Berlin-based vertical farming company InFarm said it has raised a $100 million Series B investment. This round was a mix of debt and equity and led by Atomico, with existing investors Balderton Capital, Astanor Ventures, Cherry Ventures, and TriplePoint Capital participating. This brings the total amount raised by InFarm to $134 million.
InFarm is among a wave of startups looking to shorten the produce supply chain through indoor vertical farms. The company creates high-tech pods that can be installed in places like grocery stores, restaurant or bars, so those businesses can grow their own greens and vegetables on-site. The company has a number of partners including Intermarche and Amazon Fresh in Europe.
It’s only Tuesday and it’s already been a big week for vertical farms. Yesterday, UK-based grocer Ocado announced it was partnering with Dutch firm Priva and U.S.-based 80 Acres to create a new vertical farming company called Infinite Acres. Ocado also announced yesterday that it had purchased a majority stake in vertical farming company Jones Foods.
With its small footprint, granular control of resources like water and ability to basically eliminate lengthy (and environmentally unfriendly) transportation costs, vertical farming holds the promise of bringing agriculture into urban environments. However, the sector is rife with failed startups, and the industry is still struggling to scale.
For its part, InFarm says scaling is exactly what it’s going to use its new money for, as the company looks to grow throughout Europe and the U.S., and broaden into Japan.
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