Zurich, Switzerland – The Hashgraph Group (THG), a Swiss-based global business, venture capital, and technology firm dedicated to the Hedera ecosystem, today announced a strategic investment in AgNext Technologies, a leading agritech company driving innovation in food quality and transparency. With operations spanning India, Europe, the Middle East, and the USA, AgNext leverages AI-driven quality assessment and blockchain-enabled traceability to enhance food safety and efficiency across the supply chain.

In 2021, Agnext received a Series A funding in 2021, of $21 million led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI). AWI is backed by DisruptAD, which is managed by Falcon Edge and serves as the venture capital arm of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, ADQ. The funding supported the view that AgNext is uniquely positioned to drive the digitization of quality-based food trade in the MENA region with its pioneering technologies. Soon after AgNext opened its first international office in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

With this latest investment, THG joins AgNext's recent financing round led by Novo Holdings, a holding and investment company headquartered in Denmark, with over US$150 billion in assets under management. Novo Holdings manages the wealth and assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Approximately a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted annually, leading to severe environmental, economic, and social consequences. This not only exacerbates food insecurity but also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, waste of resources, and economic losses. Boston Consulting Group estimates global food wastage at $230 billion annually.

Traditional quality checks are slow, error prone, and costly which leads to recalls and loss of trust. AgNext solves this with its patented AI powered solutions, replacing subjective assessments and lab delays with instant on the spot analysis. The solution brings digitized trust to global food supply chains.

Following this strategic investment by THG, AgNext will integrate Hedera’s cutting-edge distributed ledger technology (DLT) into its assurance and traceability platforms and devices - ensuring 100% traceability, transparency, immutability, and efficiency through self-executing smart contracts, eliminating the need for multiple intermediaries that currently populate the supply chains and drive-up end prices. Hedera being the most scalable, cost-efficient, and energy-efficient among blockchain protocols is especially well-suited for food supply chains.

Taranjeet Bhamra, Founder and CEO of AgNext, commented on the investment, saying: “We are excited to welcome The Hashgraph Group as a valued partner in our mission to revolutionize food supply chains. With THG’s expertise and technology, we are poised to enhance our quality assurance frameworks and create robust transaction assurance systems that will foster transparency and trust in the global agriculture and food sectors. This partnership marks a pivotal step in delivering innovative, cutting-edge solutions to our clients.”

AgNext and THG will also collaborate on joint go-to-market initiatives, including co-branded, Hedera-powered embedded devices, which will be offered to clients globally through a new Web3-centric joint venture established in Switzerland.

Stefan Deiss, Co-Founder & CEO of The Hashgraph Group, said: “THG brings deep expertise in designing, developing, and deploying enterprise-grade solutions on the Hedera network, delivered by our team of highly skilled, Hedera-certified engineers. With this strategic co-investment alongside Novo Holdings, we look forward to embarking on the tech-enablement journey with AgNext to drive the convergence of AI and Blockchain/DLT, while jointly bringing to market Hedera-powered AgriTech solutions that will enhance AgNext’s competitive edge in the Web3 era.”

Hedera leverages its unique Hashgraph consensus algorithm to achieve unmatched speed, security, and scalability. With low, predictable fees and a carbon-negative footprint, Hedera is governed by over 30 Council Members from the world’s leading organizations such as Abrdn, Dell, EDF, Hitachi, Google, IBM, Mondelēz, Standard Bank, and TATA, Hedera provides a trusted, quantum-resistant infrastructure for businesses and institutions worldwide.

Anindya Roychowdhury, Head of Global Partnerships at The Hashgraph Group, stated: “I’ve been closely following AgNext’s remarkable growth since its inception, and I’m thrilled that THG is now partnering with them to leverage Hedera as the foundation for their assurance and traceability platforms. With Taranjeet’s visionary leadership and the capabilities of Hedera, we are confident in creating world-leading, Web3-enabled solutions for the AgriTech industry.”

About The Hashgraph Group

The Hashgraph Group (THG) is a Swiss-based international business, venture capital, and technology company that operates exclusively within the Hedera ecosystem, specialized in venture building programs and strategic investments aimed at enabling entrepreneurs, enterprises, and governments to adapt and compete in the Web3 economy. THG brings specialist expertise in the design, development, and deployment of enterprise-grade solutions and decentralized applications on Hedera through its team of Hedera-Certified Engineers, including operating multiple venture studios around the world. For more information about The Hashgraph Group, visit www.hashgraph-group.com

About AgNext Technologies

AgNext Technologies is an agritech company dedicated to revolutionizing food quality assessment along the agricultural value chain. Through its integrated platform for rapid, precise, and cost-effective portable food quality evaluations, AgNext is empowering stakeholders to make informed decisions that drive sustainability and efficiency within the agricultural ecosystem. For more information about AgNext Technologies, visit www.agnext.com

About Hedera

Governed by a council of the world's leading institutions, Hedera is a high-performance, secure, and sustainable public, permissioned DLT network. It enables seamless tokenization of real-world and digital assets with unmatched performance, security, and compliance. From regulated security tokens to NFTs, Hedera empowers the efficient creation of diverse asset types by providing enterprises and developers with robust open-source tools to unlock illiquid assets and drive the evolution of financial markets. For more information about Hedera, visit www.hedera.com

For Media Enquiries:
The Hashgraph Group (THG)
Lara Abdul Malak
lara.malak@hashgraph-group.com

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