Indoor ag startup Iron Ox closes $53m round led by Breakthrough Energy
It will use a chunk of the funding to open its largest facility yet: a leafy greens and berries-focused greenhouse in Lockhart, Texas.
It will use a chunk of the funding to open its largest facility yet: a leafy greens and berries-focused greenhouse in Lockhart, Texas.
They’re hoping the insights they derive will revolutionize outdoor production, too.
Novel Farming Systems – which includes CEA, aquaculture, and insect production – was the second best-funded agtech category last year, according to AgFunder.
The US startup said it plans to build a “national network of new high-tech farms that will accelerate the salad industry’s transition to indoor farming.”
The startup aims to grow its footprint across Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as US regions “where growing conditions are harsh.”
In the wake of a $160 million Series B round, 80 Acres CEO Mike Zelkind argues that some valuations in the indoor ag industry are exaggerated.
CropWalk CEO Charlie McKenzie said that his company’s clients “want us around more often; with iUNU, we can be there all the time.”
AppHarvest also announced the appointment of former Amazon tech exec Mark Keller to head up its on-farm robotics efforts.
CEO Erez Galonska said the deal “represents one of the largest rollouts of any vertical farming company in North America to date.”
The Singaporean startup is deploying its robotics platform across multiple industries – including indoor ag, where it streamlines crop inspection and harvesting.
The Portland-based firm has closed its second indoor agriculture fund well beyond its $500 million target.
It claims to be the US’s largest indoor farming operation to be certified organic by the USDA – and the country’s leading supplier of fresh herbs.
The Montanan startup claims it can offer “superior unit economics” thanks to a “unique hybrid facility configuration” combining conventional greenhouses with vertical farming.
Bowery just closed the biggest-ever vertical farming funding round. Listen to our recent podcast with its CEO Irving Fain here.
Bowery will use the funding to fuel R&D efforts around new crop varieties like cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, root vegetables, and tubers.
Indoor agriculture is highly competitive and highly funded. Who’s leading the race? We spoke to Henry Gordon-Smith of urban ag consultancy Agritecture to find out.
Infarm CEO Erez Galonska declined to comment on rumors that the startup has retained perennial IPO underwriter Goldman Sachs to help it raise more funds.
Sea Forest will use the funds to start supplying commercial quantities of seaweed that Australian science agency CSIRO has shown to reduce cattle methane emissions by as much as 80%.
The city-state’s trade minister predicts “many other companies” will follow Perfect Day and others setting up R&D and manufacturing facilities there.
Minnesota’s Revol Greens has plans to build new greenhouse facilities in California and Texas – the latter of which could be the world’s largest to date.
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International Fresh Produce Association launches year 3 of its produce accelerator