Some vertical farming systems can be up to 170x more productive than traditional agriculture and use 97% less water!
With the world population projected to reach 9 billion by 2050, the current food production system is unsustainable without causing environmental damage. Vertical farming, which involves growing plants in multiple layers in a controlled environment, is a potential solution.
Vertical farming uses up to 98% less water than traditional farming, eliminating the need for harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Growing crops in vertically stacked layers significantly reduces the land required for farming.
Additionally, it enables year-round local production while being a more sustainable, environmentally friendly method of food production.
This article details five innovative startups offering vertical farming solutions.
Interested in Agriculture Technology Trends? Fill out the form to get the report:
1. Seasony
| Founding Year | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Hovedstaden, Denmark |
| Total Funding Amount | $3.9M |
| Last Funding Round/Amount | Seed/€1.5M |
| Website | www.seasony.io |
Seasony is addressing the challenge of making vertical farming profitable, scalable, and sustainable.
Seasony’s robot, Watney™, automates core processes in vertical farming, reducing labor costs and increasing yields by up to 30%. It also reduces costs by up to 65% through automation of repetitive transportation tasks within cultivation rooms.
Christopher Weis Thomasen is the founder and CEO of Seasony. He graduated from the Technical University of Denmark.
The company has raised $3.9M in funding, with its latest seed funding round on December 11, 2023.
2. Urban Farmers Pro
| Founding Year | 2021 |
| Headquarters | Distrito Especial, Colombia |
| Total Funding Amount | $225K |
| Last Funding Round/Amount | Pre-Seed/$120K |
| Website | www.urbanfarmerspro.com |
Agricultural water extraction in Latin America accounts for 74% of total water withdrawal, making agriculture the most resource-intensive activity. This startup can reduce water consumption by 95%, enabling people to grow fresh food anywhere.
Urban Farmers Pro is a Latin American AgTech startup that provides vertical indoor farming solutions using smart hydroponics. Their growing systems/vertical farms are 170x more efficient than traditional farming, use 95% less water, and require minimal space. They achieved this with a circular irrigation system that uses 100% potable, doubly filtered water.
The startup’s founder, Klaus Hergett, graduated from Harvard Extension School, where he studied eco-entrepreneurship.
Urban Farmers Pro has raised $225K in funding. Their latest funding round was pre-seed, raising $120K on Oct 1, 2022.
Agtech Startups
3. SweGreen
| Founding Year | 2019 |
| Headquarters | Stockholms Lan, Sweden |
| Total Funding Amount | $8.5M |
| Last Funding Round/Amount | Seed/$1.5M |
| Website | www.swegreen.com |
SweGreen is a Swedish AgTech startup and a vertical farming innovation venture based in Stockholm. It offers the world’s most efficient, automated in-store farming solution and the most hyper-local greens, grown in its sustainable, climate-controlled systems.
No pests or weeds are present in a controlled, protected environment, so pesticides or herbicides are unnecessary. Furthermore, by recycling all irrigation water, their systems need 99% less water than traditional agriculture.
With their in-store-grown plants, customers have access to locally grown vegetables year-round. Additionally, retailers can become self-sufficient in leafy greens and herbs.
Their CEO, Joakim Rytterborn, has over a decade of experience designing and running vertical farms.
Joakim has raised $8.5M in funding for SweGreen. In Nov 2022, they raised $1.5M in seed funding.
4. LeaFood
| Founding Year | 2021 |
| Headquarters | Vilniaus Apskritis, Lithuania |
| Total Funding Amount | €6.5M |
| Last Funding Round/Amount | Seed/€6.5M |
| Website | leafood.com |
Leafood is a vertical farming company that produces sustainable and high-quality leafy greens. It seeks to reduce strain on ecosystems and farmland to promote the sustainability of food production.
They do not use pesticides and ship the greens in resealable, recyclable packaging. Vertical farming allows them to deliver freshly harvested produce on the same day.
LeaFood cultivates 12 varieties of green salad and herbs year-round, a selection uncommon among vertical farming startups. Their farm has 12,600 square meters of effective growing area and produces 15 harvests per year. Because it’s seeded daily, plant by plant, it’s harvested more than 300 times a year, guaranteeing customers a regular supply of greens.
“While building the largest vertical farm in Europe, we remain committed to our mission: encouraging and enabling consumers to enjoy locally grown greens every day, all year round.”
– Valentinas Civinskas, founder and CEO.
The startup raised €6.5 million in seed funding in June 2022.
5. Groots
| Founding Year | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Catalonia, Spain |
| Total Funding Amount | €600K |
| Last Funding Round/Amount | Seed/Undisclosed |
| Website | groots.eco |
Groots is the first large-scale urban vertical farm in Spain. They grow all of their produce in controlled environments, ensuring that the plants receive precisely what they need, nothing more.
Their system is 40x more productive per square meter than traditional agriculture. The water circulates inside a closed circuit. Therefore, the unused water is returned to the main tank and recirculated. That way, they save up to 97% of the water that would otherwise be lost on the ground.
They’re self-sufficient, utilizing solar panels, and produce 25% fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Groots controls all environmental parameters, providing the plant with optimal temperature, light, water, and humidity to produce seasonal products year-round.
The startup’s CEO, Alessandro Calcagno, has over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience.
Under his leadership, the startup has secured € 600,000 in funding. Their latest Seed funding was raised on October 3, 2023.
See how GreyB did it
Partner with cutting-edge startups to tackle your industry’s toughest challenges and stay on top of the competition.
Learn how GreyB can help you find similar ventures that perfectly fit your needs.
