SINGAPORE, June 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Novo Holdings today
announced that it has led an investment in AgNext Technologies
Private Limited, a breakthrough agricultural and food technology
company enhancing trust along the food chains by innovating
artificial intelligence-based food quality assessment
technologies.
Founded in 2016 with operations in India and Abu
Dhabi, UAE, AgNext Technologies is committed to advancing,
scaling, and commercialising an integrated platform for rapid,
precise, cost-effective and portable food quality evaluations,
benefiting all stakeholders across the agricultural value
chain.
By digitising quality assessment, the company is establishing
benchmarks for ensuring transparency in food transactions from
origination to consumption. The company has built scalable models
providing fair pricing in food chains, usage of unadulterated crop
inputs, quality-assessed procurement for businesses and consumption
of safe unadulterated food across food chains notably in grains,
pulses, oilseeds, spices and herbs. AgNext's solutions also
significantly enhance efficiency and profitability within the food
ecosystem.
This latest funding round will support the company's efforts to
further develop technologies for food quality assessments and
enable the building of a team that will scale its product sales
internationally and into new food segments.
The deal also marks the first Asia investment in the planetary health sector
for Novo Holdings, supporting its broader strategic goal of making
investments that address planetary health and drive the green
transition – to feed a growing world population, fight climate
change and create sustainable cities.
Dr Amit Kakar, Managing
Partner and Head, Novo Holdings Asia, said:
"This investment presents an exciting opportunity for Novo
Holdings to collaborate with AgNext's management team in markets
with unmet needs, prioritising both organic and inorganic growth in
the food and agritech space in the near and long term. With an
innovative technology offering, AgNext is poised to capture
opportunities to grow its business across various sectors and
regions. Further, the company's focus on unique and customised
solutions aligns well with our vision of supporting transformative
technologies in the bioindustrial and planetary health sector."
Navjeewan Khosla, Partner, Novo Holdings Asia,
added:
"The food quality testing industry in India is driven by solid growth in the broader
agricultural industry as well as a growing focus on quality
control. With our investment in AgNext, we look forward to working
closely with the company on its growth journey, leveraging our
expertise and network to drive innovation and sustainable impact in
the agritech space."
Taranjeet Singh Bhamra,
Founder and CEO, AgNext Technologies, said:
"We at AgNext have been focused on digitising food chains
enabling greater transparency and profitability for stakeholders.
We are delighted to welcome Novo Holdings as an investor. Their
global outlook and deep sector expertise will be valuable in
supporting our mission of consolidating and integrating the best
technologies for building the next generation in global food
chains."
Deepa Hingorani, Partner,
Planetary Health Investments, Novo Holdings Asia,
concluded:
"Asia offers compelling
opportunities for Novo Holdings to scale up its investments in
infrastructure within bioindustrials and planetary health. By
investing in these areas, we aim to support our companies in their
growth and ambitions to make an impact on people and planet."
About Novo Holdings A/S
Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is
responsible for managing the assets and the wealth of the Novo
Nordisk Foundation. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve
people's health and the sustainability of society and the planet by
generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo
Nordisk Foundation. Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation,
Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk A/S
and Novonesis A/S (Novozymes A/S) and manages an investment
portfolio with a long-term return perspective. In addition to
managing a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate,
infrastructure and private equity assets, Novo Holdings is a
world-leading life sciences investor. Through its Seed, Venture,
Growth, Asia, Bioindustrial and
Principal Investments teams, Novo Holdings invests in life science
companies at all stages of development. As of year-end 2023, Novo
Holdings had total assets of EUR 149
billion. www.novoholdings.dk
About the Novo Nordisk Foundation
Established in Denmark in 1924,
the Novo Nordisk Foundation is an enterprise foundation with
philanthropic objectives. The vision of the Foundation is to
improve people's health and the sustainability of society and the
planet. The Foundation's mission is to progress research and
innovation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic and
infectious diseases as well as to advance knowledge and solutions
to support a green transformation of society.
www.novonordiskfonden.dk/en
About AgNext Technologies
AgNext Technologies is an agritech company dedicated to
revolutionizing food quality assessment along the agricultural
value chain. Through its integrated platform for rapid, precise,
and cost-effective portable food quality evaluations, AgNext is
empowering stakeholders to make informed decisions that drive
sustainability and efficiency within the agricultural
ecosystem.
https://agnext.com
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