Vijay Pullur

Excited to be on a panel discussing the current state of Agritech in Southeast and South Asia, following the latest report by Beanstalk AgTech and Briter and led by Mark Kahn and Omnivore and supported by IFC - International Finance Corporation, FMO - Dutch entrepreneurial development bank and Rabo Foundation. While I think there is much to learn from the past, I do not think the future of Agritech in SEA will look like the past. This is due to three main things: 1. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past - and must learn from them (better governance, better understanding of the value chain) 2. We must recognize the challenges of the future (climate change, geopolitical volatility) 3. We cannot stop innovating as our lives are dependent on it. Looking forward to a fruitful discussion. David S. Toi Ngee Tan, CFA Ankit Gupta Michelle Arsjad Deryl Deryl Timothy Khor Joe Liqiang Khoo 🐻‍❄️ Jeremy Tan Arnold Egg Claudia Zeisberger Miguel Soriano, PhD Lesly Goh Amri Ilmma Anmol Rao

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Building a Resilient Blue Economy: A Deep Dive into Builders Vision’s Oceans Strategy In a world increasingly aware of its ecological tipping points, systemic investment in the blue economy is not just timely but essential. Builders Vision (BV) is at the forefront of this movement, shifting paradigms to champion ocean health, climate security, and economic prosperity. Here’s how they’re making waves: Vision: Shaping a Benevolent Blue Economy At its core, Builders Vision seeks to "shift markets and minds for good." Their ambitious aim is to craft a resilient blue economy that harmonizes environmental welfare with economic gains, impacting everything from oceanic health to climate security. Design Principles: Charting the Course 1. Multi-Capital Deployment BV integrates diverse financial tools, from grants to market-rate capital, efficiently channeling resources through platforms like Builders Bridge and the Builders Initiative Foundation. 2. Strategic Focus Zeroing in on sustainable fisheries, restorative aquaculture, climate resilience, and ocean plastics, BV’s initiatives are not scattershot but highly coordinated efforts toward system building. 3. Theory of Change Guided by a 2050 vision, BV’s approach is futuristic yet practical, harmonizing short- and long-term goals to ensure dynamic capital allocation. 4. Systems Mindset By focusing on systemic necessities rather than asset-centric perspectives, BV navigates complexities with a collaborative spirit. 5. Nesting & Combinatorial Effects Through strategic alignment of investments with ecosystem interventions, BV fosters synergy among grantees and investees, amplifying impact. Impact Pathway: Navigating Bold Directions Innovation and policy shifts catalyzed by BV regenerate ocean ecosystems, with meticulous tracking of CO₂ reductions, habitat restorations, and job creation. Goals & Outcomes: Quantifying Success - Mobilization of $2.2B for ocean health innovations. - Restoration of 3.7M hectares of critical habitats. - Mitigation or sequestration of over 800K metric tons of CO₂ equivalents. - Creation of 10,650+ blue jobs, enriching communities. Lessons Learned: Navigating Challenges 1. Converting lofty ambitions into day-to-day actions is a balancing act. 2. The breadth of the capital spectrum poses unique challenges. 3. Cultivating beneficial internal conditions demands consistent diligence. 4. Influencing systemic change varies in efficacy across different domains. 5. As systems peer through modern lenses, strategies must adapt. Perspective: The Era of Systemic Investing Builders Vision’s Oceans Strategy exemplifies the profound potential of systemic investing. By orchestrating capital to effectuate holistic change, BV doesn’t merely shift the needle; it rewrites the rulebook on ecological and economic resilience. https://lnkd.in/dDYMuMa5 Credit : Frank Kumli Repost by :Salem Bagami #BlueEconomy #ImpactInvesting ---

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TEDCO announces providing funding to Gaia Agricultural Technology through the organization’s Concept Capital program. The innovative company is working to create infrastructure for continuous clean electricity from kinetic water energy.   “Centralized energy relies on the grid—meaning that any failures to the grid will interrupt the services we rely on; we are working to change this,” said James Highsmith, CEO of Gaia Agricultural Technology. “Gaia’s mission is to make energy reliable and transform how institutions design infrastructure for a future built on resilience and local generation. Thanks to TEDCO’s investment, we are one step closer to this goal.” More information can be found at https://lnkd.in/eB497_rT   Learn more about Concept Capital at https://lnkd.in/eyhmTshf #funding #innovation #TEDCO #cleanelectricity

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To kick off your week! 📡 New Episode Alert: Signaling Scale: Tools and Frameworks for Ecosystem Architecture The latest episode of Ecosystem, Scale! is live — and this one is for the builders who want ecosystems to move beyond activity into real alignment and capacity. 🌱 Amy Beaird, PhD and I explore what it actually means to distinguish signals from noise and how to use those signals to evolve ecosystems from good intentions to durable infrastructure. We get into: 👉 What counts as a true signal of progress 👉 Why shared language and governance matter 👉 How tools can make invisible ecosystem work legible and defensible 👉 And what it takes to build regional capability — not just programs If you’re serious about designing ecosystems that work, not just look busy, this conversation will sharpen your lens. 🎧 Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice — and let me know what signals stood out to you. https://lnkd.in/eUh9uJaP Apple: https://lnkd.in/etYaQJur Spotify: https://lnkd.in/emFz6wmD

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EIT Urban Mobility calls for startups Pre-Seed -> Series A , having MVP/prototype , founders own at least 40% business and solving real problems in : - urban logistics, - shared mobility, - public transport, - mobility data/AI, - electrification & alternative fuels - health & mobility. 🗓️ Online info session on 23 January 2026 🔗https://lnkd.in/dfGgp46x 🔔 Deadline for application 23 February 2026 #eiturbanmobility #urbanlogistics #mobility #publictransport #data #ai

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What I'd say if I could teleport from Africa to #RFSIEurope. Really glad to see this conversation happening in Brussels and sorry I can’t be there in person this year. Bart van der Zande points to the mismatch between what regenerative ventures actually need and the structures capital currently can offer. This mismatch feels even more potent when you look at the landscape in Africa. IFC estimates the financing gap for agricultural SMEs in Africa at $117 billion, and data from Briter shows investment markets across the continent remain fragmented and heavily concentrated at later stages, with high but fragmanted super early grant money. Missing the middle. We can talk about funding gaps, but looking more closely, the issue starts to seem less like a pure shortage of capital and more like a mismatch between the kinds of ventures emerging and the structures capital currently offers. Not just the investment stage, but the whole set of expectations that come with investment. And bear in mind, that most of our (minimal) capital is still flowing into conventional agriculture systems. Even when money is invested in adjacent subsegments like bio-inputs, it often still serves the existing industrial food and farming model rather than enabling a transition to regenerating and agroecological systems. Add regeneration into the mix and these ventures become even less legible to investors primed for the dominant tenor, return bracket, portfolio mix and so on. I’m super excited to see investors globally recognising the power of regenerative agriculture. Regenerative Food Systems Investment tracked 76 regenerative food system deals worth USD $1.45 billion in the first half of 2025. Bodies like RFSI do the noble work of showcasing that regeneration is an investible asset class, and of building the movement amongst investors: this is an incredible and necessary shift to bring big money into a sector that has super high potential. The conversation that Bart is having, and which we have all the time at Inanna takes this deeper. Understanding how capital actually needs to be structured if regenerative food systems are to grow (from our perspective, especially in places where food systems are built around smallholder economies, fragmented value chains, and long uncertain biological timelines). That means asking questions about capital design: about risk, return expectations, time horizons, and who carries what through the transition. If regenerative agriculture is becoming investible (yes!!!), the next step is making sure the capital that flows into it is actually fit for the systems it is meant to support. Really curious to hear what emerges from the cases and conversations in Brussels. Good luck all! #RegenerativeFoodSystems #CatalyticCapital #FoodSystemsFinance

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Micro Carbon X From Carbon Reporting to Carbon Data Infrastructure Micro Carbon X is a carbon management platform designed to address the core limitations of traditional carbon reporting systems — systems that rely heavily on retrospective data entry and fail to reflect real human and community behavior. The platform is built on a simple belief: If carbon data is not generated from real actions, accurate calculation alone has little value. Micro Carbon X captures data directly from real-world activities such as: • Recycling through Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) • Community-level waste and resource management • Organizational, city, and public-sector activities These data streams are transformed into a Carbon Data Infrastructure that is traceable, verifiable, and actionable — enabling: • Evidence-based policy decisions • ESG and sustainability strategy development • Measurable and scalable carbon reduction initiatives Micro Carbon X is not just a carbon reporting platform. It is foundational infrastructure for behavior-driven climate action and long-term decarbonization. 🌱♻️ Data-driven. Behaviour-based. Policy-ready.

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Is AI the problem or the solution? Yes, AI contributes to the climate challenge — its energy demand is enormous and growing fast. But it’s also part of the solution: enabling entirely new technologies and processes that can tackle some of the world’s toughest sustainability problems at scale 🌱. Seeing is believing: Last week in Turkey 🇹🇷— the world’s 4th largest fruit producer — I saw firsthand how FreshSens.ai applies AI and IoT to double the lifespan of perishable fruits and vegetables, dramatically reducing food waste and unnecessary CO₂ emissions. Thanks for the eye-opening visit Baran Baykurt Emiroğlu and Cem Ayyildiz.

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Most early-stage founders in Israel know the struggle of applying for the Israel Innovation Authority’s Pre-Seed Grant. Applications often get stuck on the requirement to first show matching investment. We designed the EXPAND III program to remove that barrier. This cohort focuses on Physical AI, robotics, and simulation, areas where early development is expensive and time-sensitive. We’ve secured $300K in investment from Creations VC for each startup accepted into the program. If you’re selected, that investment can serve as your matching capital, helping secure an additional ≈$350K in non-dilutive IIA funding. Instead of chasing investors to qualify for a grant, you can focus on building your company. That’s what makes EXPAND III different. We built a structure that helps founders move fast, meet the IIA’s matching requirement, and gain real funding momentum from the start. (link to apply in comments)

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We're getting into 'Space Tech'! Glad to announce our latest investment in OroraTech! Combating wildfires using satellites in order to reduce the impact it has on our environment, cool stuff! Read more below...

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Very happy to release my new report- ‘Venture Capital & the World It Lives In. A review of 2025 & look ahead to 2026. ‘ TL;DR ⬅️ 2025 ➖ We saw the VC ecosystem reach a healthier equilibrium between the entry & exit markets ➖ Over-valued private companies got more realistic & the exit markets stepped up across both IPO & M&A ➖ AI dominated the industry across the board from big tech through to hyper growth start-ups ➖ AI start-ups set new benchmarks for growth & valuation trajectory with both OpenAI & Anthropic worth 100’s of billions ➖ VC frameworks rapidly evolving in terms of their growth expectations & broader metrics ➖ Underlying concern about revenue quality -> revenue still needs to compound for lasting success in terms of margins & retention ➡️ 2026 ➖ Expect exit markets of IPO’s & M&A to further accelerate ➖ Big tech continues to consolidate their position as likely big winners in AI over the long run ➖ Anticipate some bumps in the road for the hyper-growth AI companies in maintaining stratospheric valuation trajectories ➖ The AI honeymoon is over bringing greater focus on ROI from customers & quality of revenues from VC’s ➖ Big escalation in the tensions between all the disparate groups in the race to build larger & larger data centres ➖ The first ever trillion dollar IPO? Follow the link to read the full report. Thanks to Andreas Panayiotou Stephen Millard Britt Mulder Notion Capital #venturecapital #AI #europe #SaaS https://lnkd.in/ejZ-eQhH

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Researchers have built a machine learning model that integrates land, oceans, atmosphere, and sea ice, producing climate forecasts more accurate than existing systems. This represents a major step forward in climate tech, giving businesses and governments better tools to prepare for the future. This is deep tech at its best: turning advanced science into practical tools with real-world impact. But it also reflects a broader truth: disruption doesn’t always require cutting-edge models. It can also come from simpler technologies that reduce waste, optimise resources, or make industries more sustainable. At Rex, we invest across that spectrum, helping companies with disruptive potential, whether they’re pioneering machine learning models or recycling materials in new ways, to scale and commercialise successfully. 📣 If your innovation could disrupt an industry but needs support to commercialise, we’d like to hear from you. https://lnkd.in/dnqwnikN

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**Exploring Sustainable Funding for Open Source Projects** The Open Source Endowment initiative, driven by prominent programmers and a VC, tackles a critical challenge in the tech community: sustainable funding for open-source projects. This innovative approach could enhance project longevity and reduce reliance on sporadic donations. At ElevenX Capital, we recognize that addressing funding gaps can nurture innovation and empower developers. How can we ensure this model effectively supports diverse projects without compromising their foundational principles? #investing #innovation #venturecapital #entrepreneurship

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>>I am launching a step-by-step resource on Fundraising For First-time Founders 👇 Pre-order today on Selar: https://lnkd.in/dZCVRUXT This is a book for first-time founders who need to gain clarity on how to approach fundraising. And founders who need to be informed that they cannot give what they don’t have, and no one can truly solve real world problems at scale, without funding and/or market influence. The practical steps on how to approach fundraising and/or build authority in any industry or thematic area, are outlined in this book. Launch date: 1st July, 2025 Pre-order price: N1,500 or $3 Original price: N15,000 or $10 Follow Akpan, Victor D. for Foreign Grants And More

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