How do I invest in food? Investing in Farm & Agriculture Technology with Tenacious Ventures
Australian Business Podcast
SwarmFarm Robotics case study
Sarah recounts SwarmFarm's path: prototype, sponsorship funding, service model, financing leases, then manufacturing at scale.
This episode was originally featured on the Australian Investors Podcast.
In this Australian Business Podcast episode, your host Owen Rask chats with Sarah Nolet and Matthew Pryor:
– How big Australia’s ag opportunity really is (55% of land mass in agriculture; ~$3.6t farmland; ~$100b farm-gate output; ~$16b profit)
– Tenacious Ventures’ OCP framework for evaluating deals and portfolio construction (incl. 40/60 follow-on reserves)
– Deep tech over pure software and why “digitally native ag” doesn’t just mean SaaS
– Case studies: SwarmFarm Robotics (robots at scale), GoTerra (decentralised insect waste), Orthodic (lignin-based coating), plus Jupiter Ionics & Embryo
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Topics Covered
– Australia’s agri-food scale and why small efficiency gains matter for returns
– The OCP (Opportunity–Company–Partnership) lens & portfolio pacing (40% initial, 60% follow-on)
– Sourcing founders via content and a tight early-stage ecosystem across AU/NZ
– Deep tech in ag: atoms & molecules, pure bits; avoiding the Silicon Valley “over-fund & rush” trap
– SwarmFarm’s path from prototypes to robots per week & 10.5m acres covered
– GoTerra’s decentralised waste “platform” and council use cases
– Orthodic’s wax-replacement coating leveraging existing infrastructure (no capex-heavy plants)
– Fund 1 sizes, typical rounds & who can invest (wholesale/sophisticated)
– Final thoughts on climate resilience, farmer adoption & retaining customers once value is proven
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