Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood Tech Research
Investment Thesis
Swanlaab Innvierte Agrifood Tech is Spain's first major venture capital fund specialized exclusively in agri-food technology. It is managed by Swanlaab Venture Factory SGEIC SA, a Madrid-based venture capital firm (CIF A-86981842, registered with Spain's CNMV under number 100) that also runs a B2B/deep-tech fund (Swanlaab Tech Fund II) and a search-fund vehicle (Scipio Swanlaab SF, SCR). The Agrifood Tech fund launched in October 2023 with initial capital over €40M and a target size of up to €80M, positioned as Spain's flagship vehicle for backing technology- and science-driven startups across the agricultural and food value chain. The fund co-invests frequently with CDTI Innovación's Innvierte program (Spain's public innovation agency), which explains the fund's full name pairing "Innvierte" with "Agrifood Tech."
Sector Focus
The fund invests across three sub-verticals of the agri-food value chain:
- Agricultural Technology: innovations that enhance productivity, sustainability, and efficiency in farming (robotics, precision livestock monitoring, autonomous field equipment).
- Food Production, Transformation & Processing: new ingredients and products, precision fermentation, and improvements to food quality, safety, and resource efficiency.
- Logistics, Distribution & Retail: supply-chain optimization, digitalization, and circular-economy solutions (including packaging materials).
Portfolio evidence confirms this spans livestock health monitoring (BigGuardian), greenhouse robotics and computer vision (Grodi), aquaculture disease biosensors (KOA Biotech), precision-fermentation food ingredients (MOA Foodtech), autonomous farming robotics (Mula), and bio-based compostable packaging (Pack2Earth).
Stage Focus
The fund invests from concept validation and late-seed through early-stage Series A, and explicitly supports companies transitioning from Seed to Growth alongside national and international co-investors.
Check Size
Initial ticket sizes start around €0.5M, consistent with the sibling Swanlaab Tech Fund II's disclosed range (€0.5M-€3M+). Actual round sizes the fund has participated in span roughly €1.5M-€3.3M, typically alongside co-investors rather than as sole check-writer.
Lead Tendency
Swanlaab's stated model is to act as lead investor and build the right syndication for follow-on rounds. This is borne out in the Agrifood Tech portfolio: the fund is reported as having "led" the KOA Biotech and Pack2Earth rounds, and as a primary co-investor alongside CDTI Innvierte in Grodi and MOA Foodtech.
Recent Activity
The fund has been actively deploying through 2025 and 2026: a €2M lead investment in KOA Biotech (February 2025), a €1.6M lead investment in Pack2Earth (July 2025), a €1.5M round in BigGuardian (January 2026), a co-investment with CDTI Innvierte in Grodi (February 2026), a co-investment with CDTI Innvierte in a €3.3M MOA Foodtech round (April 2026), and a growth-stage follow-on in Mula Autonomous Farming (June 2026) supporting its international expansion from its Navarra base.
Portfolio Highlights
Notable portfolio companies include BigGuardian (precision livestock health monitoring), Grodi (autonomous robotics and AI for Mediterranean-style greenhouses), KOA Biotech (aquaculture disease biosensors), MOA Foodtech (precision-fermentation food ingredients backed by its proprietary ALBATROS AI tool, also raising from the EIC Fund), Mula (autonomous electric robotic platforms for high-value crop farming), and Pack2Earth (plant-based, home-compostable packaging replacing conventional plastics, also backed by Mondelez-adjacent sustainability investors).
Team
- Mark Kavelaars, Founder & Managing Partner: 28+ years of international managerial experience in tech, banking, and venture capital; Investment Committee member across the Tech and Agri-Food Funds since inception; also Venture Partner at Crescendo VP.
- Verónica Trapa, Partner: 10+ years of VC experience in Spain; Investment Committee member across the Tech and Agri-Food Tech Funds since inception; former entrepreneur (Life & Colors, Tu Chef).
- Juan Revuelta, Partner: 17+ years of VC experience in Spain; Investment Committee member across the Tech and Search Funds; former engineer at LSI Logic and Texas Instruments.
- Nora Alonso, Partner: 20+ years of executive and business-development experience in biotech and agri-food; former Co-founder & CEO of Agri-Tech company Iden Biotechnology.
- Xana Belástegui, Partner: 18+ years across biotech and agri-food, spanning public research and private enterprise, including R&D, IP, and regulatory; also a former Co-founder of Iden Biotechnology.
- Angel Santos, Partner: 18+ years of VC experience in Spain investing in scientific technology-based innovation; founder of CRB Inverbio.
- Roger Salameh, Venture Partner: 30+ years in agribusiness and biotechnology, with prior roles at Arcadia Bioscience, Monsanto, and Calgene.
- Eduardo Solís, Principal: 6+ years in venture capital and startup operations, sourcing high-tech and B2B software deals; founder of The Startup Oasis (acquired by TSCFO).
- Mariluz Santos, COO: 30+ years in finance, compliance, and internal operations, with a background spanning regulated financial entities and international market expansion.
Decision Process
Investment decisions run through a formal Investment Committee, with named partners (Kavelaars, Trapa, Revuelta) serving as Investment Committee members across the relevant funds since inception — consistent with a partnership/IC-based process rather than a solo GP model.
Founder Preferences
The fund's published criteria call for a technology-driven or scientific-based innovative company, a strong focus on the agri-food sector, a B2B business model with high market potential, proprietary know-how around deep-tech or scientific innovation, an early-stage company with strong scalability potential, and a professional, dedicated entrepreneurial team.
Geographic Focus
The fund's primary geography is Spain, though its portfolio includes companies headquartered elsewhere (e.g., Grodi's greenhouse technology has cross-border applicability, and the broader Swanlaab platform has backed companies in Italy, Austria, Canada, and Australia through its other funds). Swanlaab describes its roots as spanning Spain and Israel, connecting founders to a global network of investors, partners, and clients.