Everything’s bigger in… California? At least when it comes to funding rounds for indoor, vertical farming.
Retail giant Walmart was among the latest investors pouring millions into Plenty Unlimited—which just became the most-funded vertical farming operation ever. The startup has raised nearly $1B to date, and currently has locations in San Francisco and Compton, Calif., plus a research center in Laramie, Wyo.
Plenty Unlimited won $400M in an investor round that will see Walmart and One Madison Group, a New York company, get seats at Plenty’s board table.
More money, more greens: With Walmart’s commercial partnership, Plenty will provide plenty of leafy greens to stores in California. Those greens are being grown in vertical setups that use fewer resources like water, and in areas where traditional farming isn’t an option (like big cities).
Soundbite: “This partnership not only accelerates agricultural innovation, but reinforces our commitment to sustainability, by delivering a new category of fresh that is good for people and the planet,” said Charles Redfield, Chief Merchandising Officer for Walmart.
Best in the West: The CEO of Plenty, Arama Kukutai, expects the company to also have strawberries and tomatoes next year.