Mapping Latin America’s AgriFoodTech Ecosystem through our Clean AgriFoodTech Playbook
As part of GLOCAL Game Changers 2025, we analyzed hundreds of early-stage AgriFoodTech and CimateTech startups from across Latin America to understand how innovation is reshaping the region’s food and climate systems. To better understand the ecosystem, we divided it into four broad categories — AgriCatalyst, AgriSteady Growth, AgriBioScale, and AgriHardTech — as outlined in our Clean AgriFoodTech Playbook.
The Playbook is a strategic VC investment framework rooted in both our investment experience and an in-depth research effort across the Latin American ecosystem. It is anchored on five core principles of AgriFoodTech venture capital, which are essential for grasping the unique dynamics of this industry: time matters, capital alone isn’t enough, adoption is king, fit to the sector matters & exits look different in emerging markets.
Guided by these principles, our mapping reveals a multi-speed ecosystem that combines rapid digital innovation with deep scientific and infrastructural transformation.
AgriCatalyst: The Fast Movers
These are fast-adoption, software-driven business models designed for rapid integration into existing agricultural workflows. B2B SaaS platforms, AI-enabled agrifintech solutions, and lightweight digital tools are the dominant forces in this vertical. Their strengths lie in capital efficiency, speed to market, and clear ROI for end users.
Solutions they are building:
- Ag Fintech & Insurtech: digital finance empowering farmers and de-risking agriculture.
- AgMarketplaces: digital platforms linking producers to buyers and markets.
- Middleware & AI: AI-powered intelligence driving smarter, data-led agriculture.
AgriCatalyst startups are the digital layer of AgriFoodTech — scaling quickly and laying the foundation for broader adoption.
AgriSteady Growth: The Pragmatic Innovators
AgriSteady Growth startups deliver high-impact solutions that scale gradually, often requiring years of trust-building and strong ecosystem engagement. Positioned at the intersection of data, agronomy, and farmer behavior, they focus on improving efficiency, productivity, and sustainability through incremental innovations.
Solutions they are building:
- Farm Management, Robotics & Big Data: digital agronomy powering smarter, more sustainable farm operations.
- Climate Tech & Carbon Markets: technologies that measure, mitigate, and monetize agriculture’s environmental impact.
- Traceability & Logistics – building trust and efficiency across the agri-supply chain through transparency, traceability, and intelligent logistics .
AgriSteady Growth startups bring immediate, tangible improvements to farms and supply chains — essential for mainstream adoption of AgriFoodTech.
AgriBioScale: The Scalable Biotech Builders
AgriBioScale startups harness asset-light biotechnology to bring forward bioinputs, microbial formulations, sustainable biomaterials, and functional ingredients that deliver tangible value to both farmers and food producers. Their strength lies not in heavy infrastructure but in intellectual property and scientific R&D, making them inherently more scalable across geographies.
Solutions they are building & some examples:
- AgBiotechnology: harnessing the power of microbes and bioinnovation to regenerate soils, boost resilience, and transform agricultural productivity
- Innovative Food: redefining the future of nutrition through biotech-enabled ingredients that are healthier, cleaner, and more sustainable.
- Biomaterials: replacing fossil-based inputs with circular, bio-based alternatives.
AgriBioScale startups are the IP-rich biotech players of the region, scaling sustainable solutions globally with faster time-to-market.
AgriHardTech: The Bold Infrastructure Bets
AgriHardTech startups represent the most capital-intensive frontier within AgriFoodTech. They develop and operate biorefineries, insect farms, ocean harvesters, vertical greenhouses, or large-scale climate projects — ventures that often require land acquisition, in-situ project management, and years of execution before commercialization.
Solutions they are building:
- AgBiotechnology at Scale: industrial-scale biotech driving the next wave of sustainable production.
- Industrial Innovative Food: scaling alternative proteins through industrial innovation.
- Climate Tech & Carbon Markets: Engineering large-scale sustainability through carbon removal, climate data, and ecosystem restoration technologies
AgriHardTech startups are transformative bets: slower, riskier, but with the potential to redefine entire industries.
Together, these categories reveal a multi-speed ecosystem: fast-moving digital players, steady adoption in the field, globally scalable biotech, and bold industrial moonshots.
✨ Bottom line: Latin America’s AgriFoodTech startups are not only shaping the region’s agricultural future but also creating models with global relevance — proving that innovation in food, climate, and agriculture can be as diverse as the challenges they aim to solve.
