Anterra Capital, an Amsterdam-based VC firm, announced a $100 million first close for its third fund, Fund III. This milestone comes amidst a challenging investment landscape where agrifood industry investment dropped 69% between 2021 and today, contrasting with the firm's Fund II which surpassed its $175 million target to reach $260 million.
Fund III is targeting a total of $200 million and will focus on science-based, AI-driven food and agriculture startups. Anterra Capital's strategy emphasizes integrating these innovations into existing industry channels rather than pursuing new categories like alternative protein or vertical farming, where generalist VCs experienced significant corrections.
Founding partner Maarten Goossens stated that their approach is to "rewire" the food system for greater impact, focusing on fundamentals over hype. Anterra aims to improve large existing sectors, for instance, enhancing animal health in food production rather than trying to eradicate the conventional meat industry, which is valued near $2 trillion compared to alternative meat's $10-20 billion.
Anterra Capital believes there is far more value and impact in optimizing the operations of existing large industries. This strategy of leveraging technology to improve established systems guides their investment thesis, with Fund III poised to back companies that promise scalable and sustainable change within the agri-food sector.