US-based indoor farming startup 80 Acres Farms will cease operations, AgFunderNews has learned.
Cofounder and CEO Mike Zelkind noted in a statement that the company has been unable to secure the necessary capital to continue the business.
“After an exhaustive effort to find a way forward, 80 Acres Farms is winding down operations,” he said.
“For a decade, our team has proven that vertical farming can work at scale—building and operating indoor farms that ultimately supplied more than 18,000 retail locations across the US. We’re proud of our work, the problems we solved, and the fresh, clean produce that fed so many people.
“Unfortunately, under current circumstances, we could not secure the capital required to continue that work.
“We are deeply grateful to our employees, our retail partners, and the communities that have supported us. We have seen vertical farming’s potential up close, and we still believe that this industry is just getting started, and that we have helped plant the seeds for generations of future harvests.”
One of ‘world’s largest and most advanced’ vertical farming networks
Founded in 2015, Ohio-based 80 Acres Farms was operating five fully automated indoor vertical farms at its peak. Notably, these farms were powered with renewable energy, which addressed one of the major cost hurdles associated with vertical farming.
The company has raised more than $350 million, and last year merged with Soli Organic to create what the companies then called “one of the world’s largest and most advanced indoor farming networks.”
“We’re strong believers that this industry is necessary,” Zelkind said at the time. “The question is when and who, not when and if will happen. I hope this is the start of a new era.”
News of the closure follows a long list of vertical farming companies that have shuttered since 2022, including Plenty, InFarm, Bowery, and many others.
80 Acres has declined to comment any further at this time. AgFunderNews will update this post as more details emerge.
