Berlin-based Infarm, an agritech startup that builds and distributes efficient vertical farms throughout cities, announced that it has raised $200M (approx €176.82M) in its Series D round of funding. According to the company, it is now valued at “well over” $1B.
The round saw participation from existing and new investors, including the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Partners in Equity, Hanaco, Atomico, Lightrock, and Bonnier.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will support the company’s expansion to countries in the Middle East. His Excellency Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO of QIA, says, “As a responsible, long-term investor, QIA’s purpose is to create value for future generations. We see vertical farming as a way to enhance food security in every part of the world. We look forward to working with Infarm to develop their first Growing Centre in Qatar, which will contribute to Qatar’s own food security and economic diversification,” adds Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud.
Capital utilisation
The proceeds from this round will help expand the deployment of the company’s vertical farms in the US, Canada, Japan and Europe, and to enter new markets in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East with both in-store farming units and Infarm Growing Centers.
Infarm reports that it will open its first Growing Center in Qatar in 2023, where it will harvest tomatoes, strawberries, and other fruiting crops besides herbs, salads, and leafy greens.
Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO of Infarm, says, “The current food system is broken. Vertical farming and the Infarm system provide a sustainable solution to feed a growing population in a way that’s much better for the planet and is far more resilient and flexible in the face of climate uncertainty and supply chain disruption.”
“Building a global farming network of our climate-resilient vertical farms is a core mission at Infarm, which is why we’re excited to announce this latest funding round. This strategic investment will support our rapid global expansion and bolster our R&D so that we can grow more varieties of crops close to consumers across Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East. It’s another step towards meeting our ambition of growing the entire fruit and vegetable basket in the near future, providing premium products at affordable prices to everyone,” adds Galonska.
“Freshening up plates and planet”
Founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli and the brothers Erez and Guy Galonska, Infarm aims to share the goodness of self-grown produce with everyone. The company has developed a smart modular farming system that allows distribution of vertical farms throughout the urban environment, growing fresh produce in practically any available space and fulfilling practically any market demand.
Currently, the company is growing a worldwide farming network, helping cities become self-sufficient in their food production while improving the safety, quality, and environmental footprint of food.
With a team of more than 1,000 people globally, Infarm has partnered with more than 30 major food retailers, including Aldi Süd, Amazon Fresh, Auchan, Casino, E.Leclerc, Edeka, Empire Company Ltd (Safeway, Sobeys, ThriftyFoods), Farmdrop, Intermarché, Irma, Kaufland, Kinokuniya, Kroger, Marks & Spencer, Metro, Migros, Selfridges, Selgros, Summit and Whole Foods Market.
As of now, the company is operational in Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the UK, the US, and Switzerland, and has deployed more than 1,400 farms in stores and Infarm Growing centres – which, the company claims, has saved more than 16,000,000 gallons of water and 600,000 square feet of land.
Infarm Growing Centers
The centres are Infarm’s flagship production units. The spaces offer the equivalent of about 110,000 ft2 of growing capacity, with a distribution centre that ensures quick delivery to supermarkets. Infarm also builds smaller in-store farming units for grocery stores.
Both designs were developed to maintain freshness while consuming considerably fewer resources than soil-based agriculture.
Producing more than 75 different varieties of herbs, salads and leafy greens, Infarm plans to expand its portfolio with 40 new crops next year such as mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, peas and strawberries.
Infarm claims that this new farming model can be as much as 400 times more efficient than soil-based agriculture and uses no chemical pesticides. It requires 95 per cent less land and uses 95 per cent less water by recycling water and nutrients, and using the evaporated water of the plants. Because crops are grown directly in cities, they also require 90 per cent fewer food miles to get to consumers’ plates.
Infarm’s every farm is equipped with numerous lab-grade sensors that collect more than 60 billion data points from its global farming network. The farms then upload information to the company’s cloud, the so-called “farm brain”. Infarm’s team analyses the data to update the growing environment in each module and improve factors like yield, quality, and nutritional value through the use of AI and its patented technology. In the last three years, through the analyses, the company reduced production costs by 80 per cent and improved yield by more than 250 per cent.
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