Food Delivery Tops $3.5B in VC Funding, Uber Eyes Food Delivery Drones + More

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Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

Grocery and restaurant delivery services are the latest feeding frenzy for investors, with $3.5 billion spent in VC funding in all of 2017. In Europe, €750 million will be invested in food tech by the end of 2018, with the most activity occurring in the food delivery sector.

Uber is reportedly looking into food delivery drones. Meanwhile, Amazon has made its first investment in restaurant tech. It is funding an undisclosed sum to SevenRooms in order to bring in-service, voice-enabled tech to restaurants for the first time.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

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1. Investors Are Craving Food Delivery Companies – Wall Street Journal

VC firms have invested $3.5b in food and grocery delivery services so far this year, more than triple the amount they invested in all of 2017.

2. The State of European Food Tech: Who, Where, and What’s Next – The Spoon

Germany, the UK and France are leading the majority of the funding. By the end of 2018, €750m will be invested in food tech. The most investment activity is in food delivery.

3. Lessons From Pilotworks’ Demise

The need for experienced leadership, accountability and diversity are just a few of the lessons former employee Andrea Carbine says we can learn from Pilotworks’ abrupt shutdown.

4. Disrupting the CPG Industry: How Brands Can Adapt to the Future of Packaged Goods – CB Insights

The immediate and long-term challenges facing the CPG industry and business strategies that CPG brands are using to adapt.

5. Blockchain of Food

Join us on November 5th at our November Food+Tech meetup to hear from Phil Harris of Ripe.io, Jasmine Crowe of Goodr, Nicolas Jammet of Sweetgreen and Dr. Dan Beckmann of Foodshed.io as they discuss how they are leveraging blockchain technology to improve the food system.

6. Uber Ambitiously Eyes 2021 for Food-Delivery Drones Launch – Wall Street Journal

The company’s job posting seeks an operations executive to help make delivery drones functional as soon as next year.

7. Amazon Alexa Fund Makes Its First Investment in Restaurant Tech With SevenRooms – Fortune

The Amazon Alexa Fund is making a significant investment in hospitality management platform SevenRooms in order to bring in-service, voice-enabled tech to restaurants for the first time.

8. Kite Hill Raises $40M – NOSH

The round was led by existing investors, including CAVU Venture Partners and Whole Foods Market. In addition to hiring and increasing capacity, part of the capital will be used for marketing.

9. Bantam Bagels Bought for $34M Cash by Lancaster Colony – Food Dive

For a five-year-old company, Bantam Bagels has seen remarkable growth — going from about $200k in sales before the 2015 “Shark Tank” appearance to about $20m today.

10. New York City’s First Amazon Go Cashierless Store Will Open Near the World Trade Center – Recode

The company’s latest futuristic convenience shop is being built inside the Brookfield Place office and shopping complex.

11. China: Robots Are Serving Spicy Soup at Haidilao’s Hotpot Restaurants – Bloomberg

Asia’s biggest listed restaurant chain by market value is partnering with Panasonic to open the world’s first eatery with a fully automated kitchen in Beijing. At the new Haidilao restaurant, robots will replace chefs and waiters.

12. StarKist Agrees to Plead Guilty in Tuna Price-Fixing Conspiracy – New Food Economy

StarKist faces a fine of up to $100m. A total of six charges have resulted from this federal investigation.

13. Sam’s Club to Offer Same-Day Grocery Delivery via Instacart at Over Half Its Stores by Month End – TechCrunch

Fresh off its $600m round of funding, Instacart is expanding its relationship with Walmart. The service will be available to nearly 1k new zip codes and more than 100 new stores.

14. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

We created this open-source list to increase representation, support and investment in women, women of color & gender-nonconforming innovators in food. Join the list & help us spread the word using #womxninfood

15. Join the Alpha Food Labs Community

We’re rethinking the way food is made, starting with community. The Alpha Community. Join us to help develop, test, and get early access to food designed for your tastes and values.

Our newsletter is the absolute easiest way to stay on top of the emerging sector, so sign up for it today and never miss the latest food tech and innovation news and trends, Already signed up? Share the love with your friends and colleagues!