Yanmar Ventures, venture investing team in the Netherlands and Japan for Yanmar Group, a global innovator in agricultural machinery, sustainable solutions, and automation, has joined StartLife as an Investor Partner. This strategic partnership combines startup ingenuity with Yanmar’s deep expertise in agricultural technology to accelerate breakthrough innovations, foster collaboration, and shape the future of sustainable food and farming.
The partnership comes at a pivotal time for Yanmar Ventures, which has recently opened an office in Amsterdam to establish a stronger presence in Europe’s agrifoodtech landscape. As part of this strategic move, partnering with Wageningen-based StartLife and its global ecosystem was a natural next step to further engage with high-potential agrifood startups and industry leaders.
Driving Sustainable Future Together
“At Yanmar Ventures, we are committed to supporting visionary entrepreneurs who are transforming food and agriculture with cutting-edge, sustainable technologies” ~ Nobuyuki Oda, Yanmar Ventures
“Expanding our footprint in Europe with our new office in Amsterdam allows us to operate at the heart of agrifood innovation. Partnering with StartLife gives us direct access to a dynamic agrifoodtech ecosystem, where startups and industry leaders collaborate to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. We are excited to work with StartLife and the next generation of agrifood entrepreneurs to drive meaningful change.”
Through this partnership, Yanmar Ventures will help accelerate the growth of early-stage agrifood startups by providing funding, mentorship, and industry connections to help them scale. The collaboration also reinforces both organizations’ commitment to sustainable food innovation, with Yanmar particularly focusing on investing in startups that contribute to sustainable food production, global warming measures, and labor-saving innovations.
A Strong Strategic Fit
“Yanmar Ventures is an ideal partner for StartLife, combining deep industry expertise with a shared vision for startup-driven innovation.” ~ Bert-Jan Woertman, StartLife
“Their expansion into Europe, combined with their investment focus on agrifoodtech, makes them a perfect fit for our ecosystem. This collaboration provides startups with invaluable access to funding, strategic guidance, and direct industry engagement,” said Bert-Jan, Managing Director ad interim at StartLife.
Yanmar’s investment in Vegger, a vertical farming startup from the Food Valley region and part of StartLife’s portfolio, further underscores the strategic fit between the two organizations. As early as 2017, Yanmar embraced Vegger’s innovation by installing a 30-square-meter vertical flax farm on the façade of its Tokyo building, producing fresh greens for the staff restaurant and highlighting the potential of sustainable urban agriculture.
Evaluating Tomorrow’s Agrifood Innovators at F&A Next
“We are excited to also welcome Yanmar Ventures as esteemed partner of our upcoming F&A Next summit, happening on 21 and 22 May in Wageningen,” added Samuel Rapolu, Investor Partnership Manager at StartLife.
“We are very pleased to have Sebastiaan Masselink, Senior Investment Manager at Yanmar Ventures, as judge for ‘Next Heroes in Food & Agtech’, showcasing game-changing solutions of the world’s most promising agrifood startups. It further underlines Yanmar’s dedication to identifying and supporting breakthrough agrifood innovations.”
Samuel also expresses his thanks to Ana Ward, VC at Yanmar Ventures, for her instrumental role in shaping this partnership.
Startups, want to connect with Yanmar Ventures?
Samuel warmly invites startups interested in partnering with Yanmar Ventures to get in touch with him to explore potential opportunities and arrange a warm introduction to Yanmar Ventures. Both Yanmar and StartLife are here to take your agrifood startup to the next level!
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About Yanmar Ventures
A pioneer in diesel engine technology, Yanmar is a global innovator in a wide range of industrial equipment, from small and large engines, agricultural machinery and facilities, construction equipment, energy systems, marine, to machine tools, and components. On land, at sea, and in the city, Yanmar provides advanced solutions to the challenges customers face, towards realizing “A Sustainable Future”. Yanmar Ventures is committed to investing into leading deep tech startups, leveraging Yanmar’s resources & network to accelerate their growth and to enrich people’s lives for all our tomorrows.
On top photo, from left to right: Samuel Rapolu (StartLife) and Sebastiaan Masselink (Yanmar Ventures)
On middle photo, from left to right: Ana Ward (Yanmar Venture), Sebastiaan Masselink (Yanmar Ventures), and Samuel Rapolu (StartLife)
