# Kathleen Merrigan

> Kathleen Merrigan is a funding round investor at Astanor Ventures backing AgTech and Agriculture. See 1 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Astanor Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/astanor-ventures)
- Location: Tempe, United States
- Total investments: 1
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleenmerrigan/

Kathleen Merrigan is a funding round investor at Astanor Ventures in Tempe focused on AgTech and Agriculture. Kathleen A. Merrigan is an expert in food and agriculture, celebrated by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2010. Currently, she serves as a Professor in the School of Sustainability and executive director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University and has been a VenturePartner with Astanor Ventures since 2017.Kathleen is renowned for her efforts supporting local food systems and authoring the law establishing national standards for organic food, as well as the federal definition of sustainable agriculture. She is known for authoring the law establishing national standards for organic food and the federal definition of sustainable agriculture. Alongside her role at Astanor, Kathleen serves as a Professor in the School of Sustainability and executive director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems. She also serves on the boards of various global food, climate, and forestry research centers including FoodCorps, Stone Barns Center, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, the two international forestry research centers CIFOR/ICRAF.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AgTech | 1 | 100% |
| Agriculture | 1 | 100% |
| Biotechnology | 1 | 100% |
| Waste Management | 1 | 100% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Apeel Sciences | Apeel Sciences produces products including avocados, apples, mangos, cucumbers, and citrus protected by plants. They support the plant’s natural ability to protect against environmental stress by maintaining moisture and reducing oxidation. | $30M |  |  |  |

1 of 1 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [International Finance Corporation](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/international-finance-corporation) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Astanor Ventures

VC Fund · Brussels, Belgium

Astanor Ventures is a venture capital firm focusing on entrepreneurs regenerating the food, blue ocean economy, and agriculture sector. The firm targeting technology-enabled companies across the agri-food value chain, leveraging disruptive technologies to bring about a future of food that is nourishing, regenerative, trusted, and ultra-fresh. Itrings together capital, deep sector knowledge, and a strong network of entrepreneurs, impact investors, technologists, scientists, farmers, chefs, policymakers, and food lovers to give rise to a future of food that is nourishing, regenerative, scalable, trusted, and delicious.

5 contacts available at Astanor Ventures.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kathleen Merrigan | Venture Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dr-kathleen-merrigan |
| Brian Halweil | Strategic Associate | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brian-halweil-edible-magazines |
| Eric Archambeau | Co-Founder | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/eric-archambeau |
| George Coehlo | Co-Founder and Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/george-coelho |
| Laetitia de Panafieu | Investment Principal | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/laetitia-de-panafieu |

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## FAQ

### What does Kathleen Merrigan invest in?

Kathleen Merrigan invests primarily in AgTech, Agriculture and Biotechnology startups, most often at Funding Round stage. Most of the 1 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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