We're doing so by building a network of sopsthicated farms that grow nutrious produce people crave year round.
California-based vertical farming company Plenty, previously See Jane Farm, has acquired Bright Agrotech in an effort to reach “field-scale.”. The bottom line is that there is ‘plenty’ of competition as the technology moves to commercial deployment, and successfully scaling is now the focus. Some employees were given the opportunity to relocate to San Francisco. An area that is still being refined is sourcing of seeds: identifying those that are heirloom-based or clearly stand out in taste. Plenty seems to be different because rather than growing horizontal plants stacked above each other, Plenty grows its crops vertically with the plants growing outward instead of up. This is a huge jump from the $24.5 million Plenty raised in 2016. Plenty says they can yield as much as 350 times more crops per square foot than a typical farm. Plenty claims that an essential element of the company’s differentiation comes from its proprietary technology and process, which it acquired from Bright Agrotech. Check out the Tagboard Resources Hub for the latest news and best practices in interactive storytelling and cloud-based production. Ra said Plenty ceased operations in Kent a year ago. Plenty has raised a total of $401M in funding over 5 rounds. Adapting to the market, Freight Farms laid off some of their work force as part of the shift toward commercializing targeted customers and pulling back on R&D in new areas.
Producers everywhere are clamoring for a simple cloud-based production platform that streamlines the interactive programming process. Learn More Information on valuation, funding, cap tables, investors, and executives for Plenty. Use the PitchBook Platform to explore the full profile. The goal is to provide a scalable solution that can be deployed anywhere in the world within a few weeks.
Ra said Plenty ceased operations in Kent a year ago. After announcing Amazon’s plans to gobble up Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, CEO Jeff Bezos is stepping further into the fresh foods market by investing in a vertical farming startup called Plenty Inc. These companies all have operating projects with customers. SoftBank Vision Fund, the huge tech-investment vehicle helmed by Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son, has led a $200 million investment into indoor farming startup Plenty. Regenerative Agriculture – A New Asset Class for Agriculture and Nature-based Solutions Investors – Part 3, Renewable Energy Aggregation – Hacking PPAs, Resilient Food Chains: Innovation for a Safe, Agile, Efficient, Low-Waste Food System. Since Plenty CEO Matt Barnard founded the startup in 2014 with Nate Storey and Nate Mazonson, the company has expanded rapidly. Plenty is funded by 10 investors. Plenty announced yesterday that it raised $200 million in Series B funding in what the company calls the largest agricultural technology investment of all time. Plenty has raised more than $200 million in venture funding. Other areas to monitor should include direct-to-user targeted approaches like Freight Farms’ focus on campuses versus grocery-type markets. In the rapidly evolving media landscape, companies will need a cloud-based production suite to survive. Like most others in this space, the software, use of machine learning, lighting, nutrient balance, etc. Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline. Although the company hasn’t revealed much about its methods, Plenty says it plans to use machine learning and climate creation technology without having to genetically modify its seeds. It acquired Bright Agrotech, a vertical farming technology startup, last month and has grown to 100 employees.
SoftBank Vision Fund and Louis Bacon are the most recent investors. Jeff Bezos, Softbank and Alphabet may have deep pockets, but they are not philanthropic organizations. Plenty's last funding round was on Jun 2019 for a total of $175.0M
Vertical farming is certainly an area with potential: resource efficient, near consumer demand, and better nutrition – all at competitive costs from current producers of high value leafy greens, herbs and other potential crops.