That’s an entire lot of inexperienced.
Brooklyn indoor farming startup Gotham Greens harvested a whopping $310 million in its newest fundraising spherical, the corporate stated Monday, because it plans to develop its crop of greenhouses throughout the nation.
Gotham Greens’ mannequin entails rising produce in greenhouses near or inside massive cities, slightly than transport meals throughout the nation. One of many firm’s first farms was construct on high of the Entire Meals within the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The corporate, which was based in 2009, plans to make use of the brand new money to increase present greenhouses in Chicago and Windfall, RI — in addition to finance new amenities close to Dallas, Atlanta and Denver.
So-called “vertical agriculture” firms argue that their compact city farms are extra sustainable and environment friendly than conventional agriculture, which entails transporting leafy greens from distant states or nations to grocery store cabinets.
Gotham Greens co-founder and CEO Viraj Puri stated the corporate’s objective was to ship “contemporary produce inside a day’s drive from our greenhouses to 90% of shoppers throughout the US.”
“It’s extra vital than ever to deliver modern farming options that develop high-quality produce whereas utilizing fewer valuable pure assets,” Puri stated.
But some critics have argued that vertical farms can even have a excessive carbon footprint since greenhouses gobble up massive quantities of electrical energy.
“Vertical farms and industrial greenhouses are given as examples of land-saving sustainable farming — however these farming strategies use large quantities of electrical energy to keep up an appropriate rising setting for crops,” Professor Aidong Yang of the College of Oxford informed phys.org. “That requirement must be supported by a low-carbon energy provide to be sustainable.”
Gotham Greens merchandise are presently offered at shops together with Entire Meals, Kroger, Albertsons, Sprouts and Contemporary Market.
Traders within the firm’s newest fundraising spherical embody the Financial institution of Montreal and Ares Administration.
One other New York indoor farming startup, Manhattan’s Bowery Farming, raised $300 million final 12 months from conventional enterprise capital backers in addition to celebrities together with Natalie Portman, Justin Timberlake, superstar chef José Andrés and Phoenix Suns participant Chris Paul.
Bowery Farming has raised $472 million because it was based in 2014, whereas Gotham Greens has raised a complete of $440 million since 2009.
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