US vertical farming technology company, Plenty, has raised $400 million in a Series E funding round, which included investment from retail giant Walmart.
Plenty described the funding as “the largest investment to date for an indoor farming company”. The round was led by One Madison Group and private investment firm JS Capital, and included participation from Walmart and returning investor, SoftBank Vision Fund 1.
The capital will be used to support Plenty’s growth strategy, which includes selling multi-crop farms direct to partners.
One Madison Group’s CEO and chairman, Omar Asali, said: “The indoor farming sector is at an exciting inflection point, poised to reach its full potential as a new asset class that addresses the significant need to provide access to fresh, nutritious food year-round, even in geographies where traditional farming is difficult”.
He continued: “Plenty has truly ‘cracked the code’ on the technology and economics of indoor farming. It has developed an innovative and scalable model that can deliver fresh, sustainable produce to retailers, growers and governments anywhere in the world.”
According to Plenty, the company’s vertical towers and intelligent platform make it “the only vertical farming company capable of growing multiple crops on one platform with consistently superior flavour and yields. While traditional farms and other indoor farming solutions battle the limits of space, crop variation, nature and yield, Plenty’s…modular system makes it possible to scale farms to meet partner and consumer needs.”
Additionally, the company has entered into a strategic agreement with Walmart to bring Plenty’s leafy greens from its Compton farm to all of the retailer’s stores in California this year.
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