The future of food
Infarm reaches unicorn valuation as it makes fresh produce even more accessible worldwide
This story begins with a sprig of fresh basil.
When we met Infarm founders Erez Galonska, Guy Galonska, and Osnat Michael back in 2017, we were captivated by their vision to make cities more self-sufficient in their food production and, ultimately, give more people all over the world access to fresh produce. Their solution involved creating cloud-connected modular farms that can fit compactly inside indoor locations, such as grocery aisles or restaurants. The first iteration of these was in a caravan and, later, a studio in the middle of Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood, where we first met the team.
But we were also captivated by the fact that they were already steadily embarking on their vision. At the time, Infarm had been around for a few years in incubation mode and had been almost completely bootstrapped. One of Europe’s largest wholesale retailers had installed their farms to great success. Quickly, other retailers became interested and we and the team realized this “farming-as-a-service” approach could have the most impact and achieve scale with modular, vertical farms.
Erez and his team not only explained to us what they were after, but showed us with basil, thyme, rosemary, and more. The produce was fresh, nutritious, and delicious. And it was grown in our city. The usual office visit ended with a nice tasting of the latest harvest and a very tasty and healthy lunch prepared by their very-own Infarm chef.
But we’re burying the lede here.
Today, the company is officially valued at over $1 billion, following a new $200 million round led by QIA. With over $500 million raised, Infarm is the best backed vertical farming company in the world.
We were wowed by the Infarm team and excited by their vision to solve the problem of how to feed the world in a much more healthy and sustainable way — and we still are. We partnered up with the founders in April 2017 and led Infarm’s seed round. This resulted in a 10 hour notary appointment, but with a great result.
In all these years as a company, be it in incubation mode or as a rising star scale-up, Infarm is no stranger to important milestones. They’ve expanded across 11 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America. Now, they plan to expand to the Middle East. They count 30 of the world’s top retail chains as customers, not to mention Michelin and other top ranked chefs and restaurants. The team has grown to more than 1000 employees worldwide, spanning operational, strategic, technical, and agricultural know-how.
Infarm’s news comes at a record time for us at Cherry Ventures. Just last week alone, less than 24 hours apart, two other companies — SellerX and Flink — announced unicorn valuations. Infarm joins them, Auto1,flaschenpost, FlixBus, Forto, Cazoo, and Xometry as Cherry’s current unicorn companies.
Challenge accepted
Infarm’s seemingly synonymous vertical farms can be seen worldwide at top retailers. These include, but are not limited to, Marks and Spencers, Selfridges, Kroger, Albert Heijn, Kikokuniya, Edka, Aldi Süd, and Kaufland among many others. With such prevalence, it can be easy to forget that these farms started out in a caravan and as a gardening project.
Now, Infarm’s cloud-connected vertical farming facilities are expected to grow from 500,000 sq. ft. in 2021 to over 5,000,000 sq. ft. by 2025. The funding boost will go towards developing further infrastructure, research and development, and hiring to drive greater global growth.
Over the years, we’ve been so impressed by Erez, Guy, and Osnat by their ability to conceive a moonshot idea and turn it into reality. They’re also incredibly generous with their time, advice, and exchanges with others in the ecosystem. With our portfolio, Erez, Osnat, Guy, and their team are always there to help and support other founders on their journey.
Thanks a lot Osnat, Erez, and Guy for such a great partnership so far and many more exciting years ahead.
Onwards and upwards!
