Better Food Ventures

What Better Food Ventures does

Better Food Ventures is a specialist venture capital firm founded in 2013 by Rob Trice and Michael Rose and headquartered in Silicon Valley (Menlo Park, California). The firm invests in early-stage agrifoodtech companies at the seed through Series B stages that apply digital technology to farming, food supply chain, and food system challenges. Since inception, the firm has backed more than 25 founders across the food and agriculture value chain and is widely credited with coining the category term "agrifoodtech." Its portfolio includes Afresh (fresh produce supply chain), Breedr (livestock management), and Milk Moovement (dairy supply chain). Founding partner Rob Trice passed away in February 2026; partner Michael Rose continues operations.

The firm's core proprietary products are a portfolio of annual market landscape analyses covering AgTech (1,600+ startups in the 2019 edition), Food Supply Chain Tech, Food Tech, Crop Robotics (350+ companies in the 2025 edition, up from ~250 in the inaugural 2022 edition), Indoor AgTech (1,300+ companies in 2021), Farm Tech, Livestock Tech, and Restaurant Tech. Collectively these landscapes track more than 4,000 companies across the agrifoodtech ecosystem. The firm co-founded The Mixing Bowl (mixingbowlhub.com), a community platform that connects food, agriculture, and IT innovators and serves as the primary publication vehicle for the landscapes. The firm is also developing SADIE, a data-governance tool allowing farmers to verify claims without surrendering raw data.

Revenue is generated through standard venture capital mechanics: management fees on committed capital from limited partners and carried interest on successful portfolio exits. Specific fund size, fee structures, and revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The firm has a small team of 1-10 employees, including four named partners (Rob Trice, Michael Rose, Seana Day, Brita Rosenheim) plus Chris Taylor and supporting contributors. Go-to-market is sales-led within the venture context: deals are sourced through The Mixing Bowl community, conference presence, landscape-driven deal flow, and partner networks, with the firm writing equity checks from a global reach anchored in Silicon Valley.

Name

Better Food Ventures

Legal name

Better Food Ventures

Website

https://betterfoodventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Better Food Ventures is a Silicon Valley venture capital firm founded in 2013 that invests in early-stage agrifoodtech companies applying digital technology to food and agriculture. It backs seed-to-Series B founders and publishes proprietary market landscape analyses tracking 4,000+ companies across the ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agrifoodtech Venture Capital

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Agriculture & Food / AgTech Growth Equity (FSANACAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funds (FSANAJAE)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Agrifoodtech investing
• Agtech investments
• Food tech capital
• Market intelligence

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns (Carried Interest): The firm generates returns through carried interest on successful portfolio company exits. Better Food Ventures invests equity capital in early-stage startups in exchange for ownership stakes, profiting when portfolio companies achieve liquidity events through acquisitions or IPOs.
2. Management Fees: As a venture capital firm, Better Food Ventures likely charges management fees on committed capital as standard VC practice, though specific fee structures are not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Better Food Ventures is a venture capital firm that makes early-stage equity investments in companies applying information technology to food and agriculture. The firm also produces proprietary market landscape analyses (AgTech, Food Tech, Food Supply Chain Tech, Crop Robotics, Indoor AgTech, etc.), operates The Mixing Bowl community platform, and develops the SADIE data governance tool.

Product overview

Better Food Ventures is a specialist food and agriculture venture capital firm that operates as a single investment vehicle rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The firm produces a comprehensive portfolio of market landscape analyses—including AgTech, Food Tech, Food Supply Chain Tech, Crop Robotics, Indoor AgTech, Farm Tech, Livestock Tech, and Restaurant Tech landscapes—that track thousands of companies across the agrifoodtech ecosystem. Additionally, the firm has developed SADIE, a data governance tool for farmers, and supports The Mixing Bowl community platform. These products and initiatives serve to inform the firm's own investment activities and provide thought leadership to the broader agrifoodtech ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Mixing Bowl: A connected platform to link food, agriculture and IT innovators for thought and action leadership, co-founded by Rob Trice and associated with Better Food Ventures.

Products and services

• AgTech Landscape Annual market landscape mapping over 1,600+ startups in agricultural technology, covering in-field and post-harvest innovations, farm management, digital marketplaces, and value chain enablers. Targeted at agrifoodtech investors, entrepreneurs, and operators seeking ecosystem visibility.
• Food Tech & Media Landscape Annual food tech industry landscape tracking food innovation, sales/marketing, media, e-commerce, grocery/retail, hospitality/restaurants, smart home, and health/wellness sectors. Used by investors and operators tracking food innovation.
• Food Supply Chain Tech Landscape Market map covering the 'messy middle of food' - the logistical movement and post-harvest processing of agricultural goods from farm gate to retail or food service providers.
• Crop Robotics Landscape Comprehensive market landscape tracking 350+ companies developing robotic solutions for growing food crops, segmented by crop production system (orchard/vineyard, field-grown specialty, broadacre row crops, indoor) and functional area (autonomous movement, crop management, harvest).
• Indoor AgTech Landscape Market landscape tracking 1,300+ companies in controlled-environment agriculture including vertical farms, greenhouses, urban farms, plant factories, and container farms, organized by component technologies, production systems, and growers.
• Farm Tech Landscape Market map focused on farming technology inside the farm gate, organized around farmer activities: digital agronomy and production, planning and farm management, and market access and financing.
• Livestock Tech Landscape Market landscape capturing the technology ecosystem of the livestock sector, created in collaboration with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, covering dairy and broader livestock technology innovations.
• Restaurant Tech Ecosystem Map Annual restaurant technology ecosystem map developed in collaboration with TechTable, covering guest-facing technology and B2B operations and systems for the hospitality industry.
• The Mixing Bowl A platform to connect food, agriculture, and IT innovators for thought and action leadership, associated with Better Food Ventures' investment activities.
• Early-Stage Agrifoodtech Equity Investments Direct equity investments in early-stage agrifoodtech companies at seed through Series B stages, sourced through industry networks, The Mixing Bowl platform, landscape analyses, and referrals. The firm has backed more than 25 founders applying digital technology across the food and agriculture value chain.

Quantifiable outcome

• Backed more than 25 founders across the food and agriculture value chain since 2013
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Innovation Center for U.S. DairyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Seana Day captured the technology landscape of the Livestock sector in collaboration with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy in 2018, producing the Livestock Tech Landscape 2018.
• The Mixing BowlcoreOthersBetter Food Ventures co-founded The Mixing Bowl (mixingbowlhub.com), a platform to connect food, agriculture, and IT innovators for thought and action leadership. The Mixing Bowl serves as the associated community, research, and thought leadership platform, co-publishing market landscapes and analyses with Better Food Ventures. This is an affiliated entity rather than a third-party partnership.
• TechTablecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBetter Food Ventures collaborated with TechTable, a platform and annual summit dedicated to innovation at the intersection of hospitality and technology, to produce the 2018 and 2019 Restaurant Tech Ecosystem maps and analyses. The partnership leverages TechTable's operator and hospitality industry connections and Better Food Ventures' technology and investment expertise.
• SADIE (data governance initiative)minorOthersBetter Food Ventures is developing SADIE, a tool allowing farmers to verify claims without surrendering raw data, addressing data governance concerns in agriculture. This is an internal initiative/tool developed by the firm rather than a third-party partnership.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Acre Venture Partners: Acre Venture Partners is an agrifoodtech venture fund backed by a major food company, focused on supply-chain and consumer food innovation. Comparable as a category-specialist VC, though more corporate-backed and growth-leaning than Better Food Ventures.

Regional players

• SP Ventures: SP Ventures is a Brazil-based agrifoodtech venture firm investing across the Latin American agricultural value chain. Comparable as a sector-specialist VC with similar agtech focus, but serving a different geography than the US-anchored Better Food Ventures.

Direct peers

• Anterra Capital: Anterra Capital is a growth investor specializing in food, ag, and animal health, based in the Netherlands and US. Comparable as a sector-specialist investor with overlapping portfolio themes in dairy, livestock, and supply-chain tech.
• Cultivian Sandbox Ventures: Cultivian Sandbox Ventures is an agrifoodtech-focused venture fund investing in early and growth-stage companies across the food and agriculture value chain. Comparable as a domain-specialist VC with overlapping agrifoodtech investment thesis.
• Finistere Ventures: Finistere Ventures is an early-to-growth-stage agtech venture firm investing in digital and biology-driven agriculture. Comparable as a domain-specialist VC with similar seed-to-Series B focus and agrifoodtech thought leadership.
• Radicle Growth: Radicle Growth is a San Diego-based agtech-focused early-stage venture firm running a distinctive accelerator-plus-fund model. Comparable as a seed-stage agrifoodtech investor competing for similar digital-farming founders.
• AgFunder: AgFunder is the largest agrifoodtech-focused venture capital firm and operates AgFunderNews as a sector publication. Both AgFunder and Better Food Ventures compete for the same seed-to-Series B agrifoodtech founders and publish market intelligence shaping the category.
• S2G Ventures: S2G Ventures is a dedicated agrifoodtech venture and growth investor backing food and agriculture innovators across the value chain. Directly comparable as a sector-specialist VC with a similar thesis on IT-driven food-system transformation.

Others

• TechTable: TechTable is a hospitality-tech ecosystem platform and annual summit. A partner rather than a competitor — Better Food Ventures co-published the Restaurant Tech Ecosystem maps with TechTable — but adjacent to its food-tech investment thesis.
• The Mixing Bowl: The Mixing Bowl is the affiliated community and research platform co-founded by Better Food Ventures. Not a competitor; rather a closely allied ecosystem organization producing the joint landscape reports that anchor the firm's market intelligence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/better-food-ventures
• Xx.com/betterfoodvc
• Facebookfacebook.com/BetterFoodVC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments20 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Better Food Ventures