Infarm, a European based vertical agriculture company, announced a $200 million round D financing this week. This round of financing is led by the Qatar Investment Authority (Qia), which is another financing after the financing of US $170 million last year. This makes the company’s total financing reach US $600 million, and its valuation far exceeds US $1 billion, making it the first vertical agricultural Unicorn company in Europe.
Erez galonska, co-founder and CEO of infarm, said in a press release: “Building a global agricultural network consisting of our climate adaptive vertical farms is the core task of infarm, which is why we are pleased to announce this latest round of financing. This strategic investment will support our rapid global expansion and strengthen our R & D so that we can reach consumers in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East Plant more crop varieties. This is another step towards realizing our ambition to grow the whole fruit and vegetable basket in the near future and provide everyone with high-quality products at reasonable prices. ”
It is reported that most of the funds will be used for infarm’s international expansion plan, targeting the United States, Canada, Japan and other parts of Europe. The company will also expand to more Asia Pacific markets and the Middle East.
Qia’s participation in this round is undoubtedly an important driving force. As part of the deal, the company announced plans for the Qatar planting center to grow tomatoes, strawberries and other fruits in the region. Fruit has always been a driving force for many vertical agricultural companies because they want to go beyond the long-standing standard for their bread and butter. Green leafy vegetables and herbs can be grown relatively easily in a controlled indoor environment.
“As a responsible long-term investor, Qia aims to create value for future generations. We believe that vertical planting is a way to improve food safety everywhere in the world,” Mansoor bin Ebrahim al Mahmoud of Qia said in the same press release, “We look forward to working with infarm to develop their first planting center in Qatar, which will contribute to Qatar’s own food security and economic diversification.”
Vertical planting is meaningful for the region, which provides growers with the ability to produce crops in climate controlled buildings, and the water consumption is much lower than standard farming. In 2018, crop one also announced that it would open a 130000 square foot agricultural facility in the UAE. Of course, in the future, such attention will certainly not be limited to one region.
Source: cnBeta COM
Post time: Dec-17-2021