Debt Crowdfunding’s 2024 Peak—and 2025’s Reality Check

CHART OF THE WEEK 📈

By Teddy Lyons | Read

Debt Crowdfunding's 2024 Peak: Why the Market is Hitting the Brakes

After a record 2024 that saw nearly $60M raised, the debt crowdfunding market is hitting the brakes. Through the first ten months of 2025, total capital raised sits under $23M, with the average deal size down nearly 45%. But this isn’t a collapse—it’s a correction. Businesses, especially in Food & Beverage, are still raising smaller, manageable loans to fuel tangible growth like new equipment and expansions. Investors, meanwhile, are spreading risk across more deals. The result? A maturing market finding its sustainable rhythm after last year’s spike.

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WEBINAR THIS WEEK: How to Earn Passive Income Without Running a Business

Join us on Wednesday, October 29th at 1pm ET for a live webinar with FranShares CEO Kenny Rose, who’s transforming how investors access franchise ownership. Learn how to earn passive income through diversified, SEC-registered franchise funds—and why this overlooked asset class offers strong regulation, stable returns, and long-term growth potential. RSVP below👇

INSIDE STARTUP INVESTING

By Sam Fiske / Watch | Apple | Spotify

One breath. Ten minutes. Breath Diagnostics analyzes VOCs to flag early-stage lung cancer—and is pursuing a faster FDA route by predicting post-op pneumonia first. CEO Ivan Lo joins ISI to unpack the science, early accuracy signals, unit economics, and how a breath-based platform could change diagnostics.

PITCH REVIEW 💸

By Teddy Lyons \ Deal Report

Brief: Greenfield Robotics is an agtech company that builds AI-powered autonomous robots that cut weeds at the base without using herbicides, helping farmers reduce chemical dependency and fight herbicide-resistant weeds. Operating under a robots-as-a-service model, Greenfield deploys and manages fleets of lightweight, electric robots that work day and night to clear fields safely and efficiently. Focused on sustainability and regenerative farming, Greenfield aims to lower farm costs while enabling cleaner, chemical-free food production.

Teddy’s Take: Everyone knows about the graveyard of robotics companies that have raised tens of millions in Reg CF and Reg A+ only to quickly go under. Names like Bobacino, Piestro, Nommi, and Future Acres may cause you to cringe. I hear you. These companies raised on nothing but well-edited promotional videos and a prototype (and sometimes not even that). 

Today, I want to discuss Greenfield Robotics. Before you immediately dismiss this company as another crowdfunding money-grab, hear me out. To set the stage, Greenfield Robotics has developed autonomous farming robots that cut weeds growing in rows of crop fields. 

What is the difference between Greenfield and the defunct robotics companies mentioned above? Greenfield is not a shell company raising money on a video and a prayer. The company actively has over 20 robots deployed at farms across six states. The tech has been developed for over 5 years and the company has a major headstart on other players, with the main competitors focusing on specialty crops as opposed to row crops (the type Greenfield’s robots are specifically designed for). 

This is a real company with actual traction and commercial customers ($1M+ in contracted revenue for 2026 robot deliveries). 

Of course, this is still robotics. Scaling is extremely capital intensive and can take many years. However, Greenfield should be evaluated on its own merits, separate from the dark track record of the robotics companies that have previously raised equity crowdfunding.

STAFF PICKS 🌶️

Comikaze Entertainment

By Teddy Lyons

Comikaze Entertainment, owner of LA Comic Con, generated $5.4M in 2024 from one of the nation’s fastest-growing fan events. With 126,000+ attendees and major brand partners, what’s next for the company?

EmerRx

By Teddy Lyons

EmerRx Biopharma is developing a dual-chamber intranasal platform that delivers emergency drugs with IV-like speed and precision. Its lead program, EMRX-101, aims to reverse opioid overdoses faster than current nasal sprays, with early data showing up to 50× greater absorption than Narcan.

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