Ag Tech Investments News
Plenty Attracts Largest-Ever Agriculture Technology Investment Led by the SoftBank
South San Francisco, Calif.: Plenty, the leading field-scale indoor farming company remaking the global food system, announced today a $200 million Series B funding round led by the SoftBank Vision Fund, making it the largest agriculture technology investment in history.
In connection with the investment in Plenty, the SoftBank Vision Fund’s Managing Director, Jeffrey Housenbold, will join the Plenty Board of Directors.
To build a new kind of indoor farm that uses cutting-edge LED lighting, micro-sensor technology, and big data processing, Plenty is using proven plant science and patented technologies to deliver higher-quality produce for pricing as good or better than what consumers pay today.
For many fresh fruit and vegetable crops, the world has run out of economically viable, arable land. This investment will support building out Plenty’s global, hyper-yield farm network and support its mission of solving the increasingly critical need to make fresh produce available and affordable for people everywhere.
CEO and co-founder of Plenty, Matt Barnard said, “Fruits and vegetables grown conventionally spend days, weeks, and thousands of miles on freeways and in storage, keeping us all from what we crave and deserve — food as irresistible and nutritious as what we used to eat out of our grandparents’ gardens.”
“The world is out of land in the places it’s most economical to grow these crops. After a decade of development driven by one of our founders, our technology is uniquely capable of growing super clean food with no pesticides nor GMOs while cutting water consumption by 99 percent, making locally-grown produce possible anywhere. We’re now ready to build out our farm network and serve communities around the globe.”
Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp, Masayoshi Son said, “By combining technology with optimal agriculture methods, Plenty is working to make ultra-fresh, nutrient-rich food accessible to everyone in an always-local way that minimizes wastage from transport. We believe that Plenty’s team will remake the current food system to improve people’s quality of life.”
Plenty Company plans to build farms near the world’s major population centers. These farms will deliver industry-leading yields of the freshest, best-tasting local produce that’s completely GMO- and pesticide-free, all while transitioning agriculture to a predictable and perpetual model.
Plenty farms use one percent of the water and a tiny fraction of the land of conventional agriculture, while delivering produce to local grocery shelves within hours of harvest, they also maintain a perfect growing environment.
The Series B funding round was led by the SoftBank Vision Fund, with participation from affiliates of Louis M. Bacon, the founder of Moore Capital Management, LP, and existing investors including, Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, Bezos Expeditions, DCM, Data Collective, and Finistere.
Source: https://www.plenty.ag/
