There’s more tech behind your steak than you’d think. Here are seven ANZ companies rebuilding how farming works. One is already worth billions. One just got bought by Yamaha.
1. Agscent (Aus)
Found NASA sensing tech in a public patent library, licensed it and pointed it at cow breath. It detects pregnancy from 18 days instead of about 40. Raised $5M at a $26.9M valuation.
2. Halter (NZ)
Solar powered virtual fencing collars for cattle. A US$220M Series E led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund at a US$2B valuation, with more than 1 million collars sold across 2,000+ farms.
3. SwarmFarm Robotics (Aus)
Small autonomous weed spraying robots built by farmers Andrew and Jocie Bate in Central Queensland. The fleet has covered millions of hectares and sprays the weed, not the whole paddock.
4. Nbryo (Aus)
IVF for cattle. It copies embryos from elite animals so producers can spread the best genetics across far more of the herd. The Queensland Government has said it can compress years of selective breeding. It has reportedly raised more than $20M since 2024.
5. Loam Bio (Aus)
A fungal seed coating out of Orange, NSW that helps crops lock atmospheric carbon into stable soil carbon. Raised an A$105M Series B co led by Lowercarbon Capital and Wollemi Capital.
6. Robotics Plus (NZ)
Autonomous orchard and vineyard vehicles out of Tauranga. Acquired by Yamaha Motor, which built its Yamaha Agriculture business around it.
7. Just Meat Protein (Aus)
A Brisbane startup with a licence to CSIRO tech that turns low value poultry cuts into protein powder. Poultry producer Inghams reportedly took a 10% stake.
My read
None of these are apps. They’re collars, robots, sensors, embryos and seed coatings, built for people who stand in paddocks. That’s where ANZ has a real edge, because the farmers who need this stuff are right here to test it.