From AgFunderNews, November 10, a financing newswrap:
Data Snapshot: Bowery’s $300m round tops H1 2021 Novel Farming Systems deals
Data Snapshot is a regular AFN feature in which we analyze agrifoodtech market investment data provided by our parent company, AgFunder.
AgFunder data confirms that US vertical farming startup Bowery bagged the biggest investment deal in the Novel Farming Systems category in the first half of this year. The New York-based company claimed that its $300 million Series C raise in May – was “the largest private fundraise to date for an indoor farming company.”
Fidelity led the round with participation from Amplo, Gaingels, General Catalyst, GGV Capital, Temasek, Groupe Artémis, and Google affiliate GV.
In second place was New York’s Edenworks — now known as Upward Farms — which raised $122 million earlier in the year according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. It builds aquaponic farms which raise crops and fish together.
The third-largest deal involved German vertical ag company Infarm, which netted $100 million in an extension to its Series C round from investors including Hanaco and Atomico.
Top 10 Novel Farming Systems funding deals H1 2021
Also of note among the top 10 Novel Farming Systems deals in H1 was the $50 million Series A round raised by New York’s Oishii, which claims to cultivate strawberries in the city using bees and ancient Japanese farming practices; while the Channel Islands’ Northern Leaf scored $19 million from five investors to build a growing facility and extraction plant for medical cannabis.
What are Novel Farming Systems?
Novel Farming Systems is a category created by the AgFunder Research team to cover ventures in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) — including vertical farms and greenhouses — as well as tech-enabled insect, seafood, cannabis, and algae production.Why are investors interested in Novel Farming Systems?....
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Algae, that brings you back doesn't it?
There was 2009's The Summer Of Algae
From 2010's The Navy Calls for More Algae Fuel
To 2012's Algaen Gothic:
"Yup, I used to raise corn for ethanol. But then the topsoil blew away and I couldn't even get enough juice to run my tractor or get drunk on Saturday. Then this stranger came to town. Ordered something called a 'la-tay' and called himself a 'vee-cee.' Said he'd give me $20 million to come to Californee and herd algae. So we packed up our furniture in his little toy car and came west. Now I've got a regular bonanza of the slimy critters and the kids got shoes. Hain't looked over my shoulder back east since."
