Vertical farming company Infarm has raised US$170mn investment in the first close of a Series C funding round, which is expected to reach US$200mn
The first round, led by LGT Lightstone, involved investors Hanaco, Bonnier, Haniel and Latitude, and was supported by existing Infarm investors Atomico, TriplePoint Capital, Mons Capital and Astanor Ventures.
The fresh capital infusion brings Infarm’s total funding to more than US$300mn to date with a mix of equity and debt financing.
The investment will be used to deepen the regional and local penetration of Infarm’s global farming network. It will also be used to complete the development of its new generation of vertical cloud-connected farms, capable of producing crop-equivalent of acres of agricultural land and amplifying the diversity of produce currently available through vertical farming.
These farms will save labour, land, water, energy and food-miles by integrating advanced engineering, software and agricultural technology, while also contributing to a more sustainable food system.
Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO of Infarm, said, “The coronavirus pandemic has put a global spotlight on the urgent agricultural and ecological challenges of our time. At Infarm, we believe there is a better, healthier way to feed our cities: increasing access to fresh, pure, sustainable produce, grown as close as possible to people. As we scale to 5,000,000 sq ft in farming facilities across Europe, North American and Asia by 2025, this investment will help us make a truly global impact through our network, preserving the thousands of acres of land, millions of litres of water and ultimately change the way people grow, eat and think about food.”
In the past 12 months, Infarm has formed new partnerships with the retailers, including Albert Heijn (Netherlands), Aldi Süd (Germany), COOP/Irma (Denmark), Empire Company Ltd (Sobeys, Safeway, Thrifty Foods - Canada), Kinokuniya (Japan), Kroger (United States), Marks & Spencer (United Kingdom) and Selfridges (United Kingdom).
With operations across 10 countries and 30 cities worldwide, Infarm said it now harvests more than 500,000 plants monthly.
