TLDR:
– Venture capital funding for vertical farming has decreased in recent quarters
– Startups in the industry are facing challenges in achieving profitability
Vertical Farming Venture Capital Has Dried Up, But Startups Are Still Planting Seeds
As venture capital wagers go, indoor farming has not done especially well. Over the years, investors have plowed over $6 billion into startups in the space, most during the peak period of 2019-2023. They’ve harvested meager returns so far. In recent quarters, large venture rounds have mostly dried up. And a few of the higher-profile upstarts have folded.
At least 14 indoor and vertical farming companies have raised $100 million or more in venture funding, and many more have attracted significant funding. Using Crunchbase data, a sample set of 22 companies were analyzed, with a majority not raising funding since 2022.
Plenty, a startup specializing in indoor, vertical farming, is one of the best-capitalized in the space, having raised over $940 million. The company recently formed a joint venture in the Middle East, with a focus on indoor strawberry farming.
Some startups in the vertical farming space have faced challenges, with companies like AppHarvest and Iron Ox going out of business despite significant funding. The vertical farming industry remains promising, but the infrastructure-heavy nature of the business has not aligned with typical venture investor exit time frames.
