Ireland’s Tirlán Launches New Agtech Investment Fund

As part of its transition to full co-operative ownership, Tirlán, the leading farmer-owned food and nutrition business in Ireland, announced the launch of the Tirlán Nurture Fund with seed funding of €10 million (US$10.65 million), writes Lynda Kiernan-Stone at Global AgInvesting.

With an aim to identify and scale innovative agrifood tech solutions, the fund will target early stage, innovative, and sustainable tech investments that back solutions contributing to the increased efficiency and sustainability of the supply chain, while also benefiting Tirlán, its farmer suppliers, and the broader community.

“Tirlán is a vibrant, ambitious and innovative business committed to being at the forefront of sustainable dairy and grains into the future,” said Jim Bergin, CEO, Tirlán.

“We see the potential of investing and scaling start-ups that tap into Tirlán’s core strengths and will drive value in the food and nutritional science solutions area through both innovative technologies and research and development in functional ingredients, food safety and traceability, packaging, animal health and sustainability.”

Bergin continued, “These activities will create additional value streams for our organization, and will aim to improve, modernize and make more sustainable Irish and global food supply chains for the future.”

First referred to as the “Agtech island” by venture capitalist Kieran Furlong in 2017, Ireland continues to carve out its place as a leader in the space. For a country of only 5 million people, Ireland is home to eight of the top 10 U.S. tech companies, and 16 of the top 20 software companies in the world.

Read more at Global Ag Investing.

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