China
iCell: Upcycling nutrients from wastewater
Hong Kong-based iCell Sustainable Nutrition makes single-cell proteins with wastewater from food and beverage factories, generating revenue and purifying the water for safe discharge or reuse
IXON: Preserving food without canning or freezing
Chinese foodtech IXON aims to disrupt global cold chain logistics with its novel food preparation and packaging solution that keeps food fresh at room temperature for years
Botree Cycling: Recovering critical metals from end-of-life batteries
The Beijing-based startup helps clients dismantle and recycle spent lithium batteries on-site, recovering over 90% of rare metals and reducing demand for mineral resources
Grain Meat: Focusing on whole cut plant-based meat
With its proprietary fiber weaving technique and specially-designed machinery, Wuxi-based Grain Meat aims to replicate the texture and even the grain of real meat
Plant-based meat faces backlash in China despite gaining traction
An innocuous video clip sparked debate on social media over plant-based meat, with suspicion about its nutritional value, cost-effectiveness and even the motives of foreign companies
CoRTP: Building sustainable supply chains with returnable packaging
The Shanghai-based startup’s award-winning returnable transit packaging reduced carbon emissions in 2020 by 250,000 tons, and the figure is estimated to reach 8m by 2030
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Chinese startups join the race to address chip shortage amid funding boom
Would an overheated semiconductor startup scene and the ability to design cutting-edge chips be enough to help China achieve chip self-sufficiency?
TuSimple: Banking on autonomous trucking in the US
TuSimple aims to scale its Waymo-style driverless trucking network to disrupt the $4tn global truck freight market starting with the US, with mass production by 2024
Tuya Smart announces more partnerships, files for IPO in the US
Tuya Smart’s platform enables the creation of smart devices with little or no code writing needed, shortening R&D from months to a matter of days
Amid IPO talk, Meicai continues to push for growth in bid to become China's Sysco
Covid-19 helped speed up expansion to the B2C market for Meicai, China’s most valuable agrifood tech unicorn founded by a farmer’s son
ScentRealm: Digitally reproducing scents on demand
Unlike colors and sounds, scents are hard to code and digitalize. ScentRealm has not only done it, but has also opened its scent editor and database to the public
Kathy Xu stays ahead of the curve in China's VC scene
Dubbed “Queen of VC” in China, Xu has spotted great companies that others were not quite interested in, like Chinese online retail giant JD.com
Bluepha to boost PHA bioplastics production with $30m fresh funding
The Beijing-based startup aims to produce 10,000 tons of PHA bioplastic a year and build a SynBio community through its STEM education spinoff, Bluepha Lab
Clear Plate: Anti-food waste AI that rewards the diners who finish their food
Taking little steps to make a big difference in fighting food waste, Clear Plate engages with digital natives to spread the message
Liquidstar: Bringing decentralized renewable energy to off-grid communities
Using a blockchain-based platform, Liquidstar wants to use smart, modular batteries to power remote, off-grid communities as well as homes, offices and EVs in cities
