21 and 22 May, F&A Next sets the stage for a sustainable revolution in the food industry by showcasing ten of the world’s most innovative agrifoodtech startups. Harnessing cutting-edge technologies like precision fermentation, AI, and remote sensing, these entrepreneurs are ready to unveil their groundbreaking solutions live. The startups are divided into Pre-seed/Seed (early stage) and Series A/B (later stage). From each category, one standout will earn the prestigious Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Award 2025, along with a €12,500 prize grant—a milestone in the journey toward more sustainable food systems.
For the tenth consecutive time, F&A Next has selected 10 aspiring companies that they believe have got what it takes to become true game changers in the world of food and agriculture. In May the founders of these companies will pitch their solutions to a global audience of 800+ investors, corporates, researchers, fellow startups and scale-ups and agrifoodtech professionals – aiming for a (next) investment round or strategic partnerships.
Pre-seed & Seed Startups
- Agrobiomics (Denmark): develops transformative biosolutions, with a vision of securing a sustainable food supply, by making agriculture resilient to climate change effects, such as drought and salinity.
- Agrisound (United Kingdom): provides farmers and landowners with a range of hardware and software solutions for the remote monitoring of pollinators across an estate.
- Concert Bio (United Kingdom): develops microbiome products and services enabling greenhouse growers to understand and harness the enormous potential of the plant microbiome for their crops.
- Foodforecast (Germany): developed an innovative AI forecasting tool that enables precise sales planning, helping food companies optimize availability while minimizing waste.
- Greenswapp (The Netherlands): an API for food platforms & supermarkets to track product and recipe-wise carbon footprint at scale.
Series A/B Startups
- Grassa (The Netherlands): unlocks the full potential of grass by producing affordable plant-based protein for humans whilst improving the sustainability of milk production
- Klim (Germany): their digital platform offers farmers documentation and financing options for regenerative measures, as well as access to knowledge and a community
- Nofence (Norway): produces GPS collars for farm animals to keep them from crossing virtual borders
- Vivici (The Netherlands): develops alternative dairy proteins through precision fermentation
- Wild Bioscience (United Kingdom): aims to make crops such as wheat and maize grow faster and more productive.
‘The quality of entrepreneurs is outstanding’
“It is an honor to take part in the jury of this prestigious award. The quality of the entrepreneurs is outstanding, reflecting the excellence of the namesake of this award and the reputation of the university hosting us”, Arnout Dijkhuizen said.
Dijkhuizen is an Investment Principal at Astanor and a Next Heroes in Food & Agtech jury member. This panel comprises investors and experts with extensive track records in Food and Agtech and will decide which startups take home the Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Award 2025.
- Arnout Dijkhuizen, Investment Principal at Astanor
- Richie Gray, Vice President and Global Head of Mondelez’ SnackFutures Ventures.
- Sebastiaan Masselink, Senior Investment Manager at Yanmar Ventures
- Maurien Olsthoorn, Senior Science Fellow at dsm-firmenich
- Francesca D’Cruz, Senior Associate a Fall Line Capital
Feike Sijbesma Sustainable Innovation Award 2025
In 2025, for the first time, not one but two Next Heroes stand a chance to win the award and €12,500. Our jury chooses one winner in the Pre-Seed/Seed stage category and one winner in the Series A/B stage category.
The award is named after the former dsm-firmenich CEO Feike Sijbesma and is made possible by the DSM Brighter Living Foundation through the Wageningen University Fund. The award aims to stimulate innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide to scale their science-based solutions, explicitly focusing on sustainable climate-resilient food systems. At the closing of the F&A Next summit, Mr. Sijbesma will personally hand over the awards to the winners.
