Freight Farms, the global innovation leader of containerized vertical farming, has raised $15 million in Series B funding led by Ospraie Ag Science, an investment firm committed to supporting sustainable solutions that improve the quality of life for both farmers and society. The investment round, which received participation from existing investor Spark Capital, brings the company's total funding to more than $28 million.
Freight Farms’ Greenery produces more than 500 varieties of crops like calendula at commercial scale year-round, using 99.8% less water than traditional agriculture. Four rows of panels on a flexible moving rack system house more than 8,000 living plants at once, creating a dense canopy of fresh crops.
The Series B funding will be used to advance the technical potential of Freight Farms' platform through continued innovation, with new services designed to benefit its growing global network of farmers and corporate partners. The investment follows the announcement of Freight Farms' strategic national partnership with Sodexo to grow food on-site at educational and corporate campuses nationwide, and will support ongoing contributions to collaborative research projects and partnerships.
"Freight Farms has redefined vertical farming and made decentralizing the food system something that's possible and meaningful right now, not in the 'future of food,'" says Jason Mraz, president of Ospraie Ag Science. "Full traceability, high nutrition without herbicides and pesticides, year-round availability – these are elements that should be inherent to food sourcing. Freight Farms' Greenery makes it possible to meet this burgeoning global demand from campuses, hospitals, municipal institutions and corporate businesses, while also enabling small business farmers to meet these needs for their customers."
"It's a big step forward for the industry when financial markets recognize and champion the value of creating a distributed food system," adds Brad McNamara, Freight Farms’ chief executive officer. "Aligned on mission-driven growth as a team, there is a massive opportunity before us to scale across global markets, propelling meaningful technology that's already doing good."
"With the Greenery and farmhand, we've created an infrastructure that lowers the barrier of entry into food production, an industry that's historically been difficult to get into," says Jon Friedman, Freight Farms’ chief operating officer. "With this platform, we're also able to harness and build upon a wider set of technologies, including cloud IoT, automation and machine learning, while enabling new developments in plant science for future generations."
