Investor interest in agriculture technology companies may have waned during the first couple of months of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that interest appears to be picking back up, said Kieran Furlong, innovation mentor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and a venture partner with Finistere Ventures.
Furlong was a speaker during the panel discussion, “The next era of Ag-Tech: Strengthening the Supply Chain,” held on July 30. The discussion was part of the Alltech One Virtual Experience.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on nearly every facet of agriculture, and ag-tech startups are no exception. Furlong noted that getting those startups off the ground and finding investors has not been easy since March.
“I think in the immediate short-term, there’s definitely been an impact in the world of startups and venture capital investment. In March, when things began to go on lockdown and stay-at-home measures were being implemented, a lot of the investors retracted their claws a little bit and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to hang on -- we’re just going to hold for a while and wait this out,’” Furlong said.
At the same time, professionals in the startup world who were working to raise capital pulled back, realizing it wasn’t as easy to make pitches to other people.
But since the pandemic began, virtual meetings became more commonplace. This trend is being embraced by those in the venture capital world, and as a result, there is less apprehension.
“I think that’s beginning to change a little. I think that a lot of investors are realizing the efficiency of which they can go out and see these companies virtually,” he said.
The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech.
View our continuing coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.
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