Top 10 CEA News March 18th

Good Morning readers,?Vertical Farming companies turning to strawberry production, IUNU Series B, Tencent investing in Future Crops, Local Bounti acquiring Pete's? and much more...

Here are the Top 10 CEA News stories of this week!

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1- After Greens, Vertical Farming Companies Are Turning To Strawberry Production

On the same day, two of the largest vertical farming company by size and value announced the expansion of their crop offering to strawberries. US vertical farm, Plenty and Driscoll announced the construction of a vertical farm dedicated to strawberry production whilst their competitors, Bowery farming launched their strawberry duo-pack in New York City. Both of these news confirms one trend, after greens, vertical farming companies are turning to strawberry production.

Both of the companies had plans to expand their product offering. Bowery Farming had plans to sell strawberries after it acquired Traptic, a robot picking strawberry even if, initially, the acquisition would accelerate the expansion to fruiting and vine crops as per the company's spokesperson, without mentioning strawberries specifically.

On the other hand, Plenty's strawberry production facility will be the first commercial-scale farm it builds outside of California. Even if the exact location of the facility is yet to be revealed, the company announced that the strawberries will be served to consumers in the Northeastern US.

"Our partnership with Driscoll’s, coupled with Plenty’s optimized technology platform, ensures we can consistently grow premium berries closer to where these consumers live, providing fresh, consistent quality." Arama Kukutai, CEO at Plenty

Read the rest here .

2- Tencent Invests In Future Crops But Fears Record-Breaking Fines Over Financial Regulation Breach

Future Crops, an Israeli-Dutch venture, has developed advanced vertical farming systems from cutting edge technology using a unique soil-like substrate to better reproduce the natural environment. The high-tech farm grows fresh, clean and quality crops at competitive price points. Researchers from Israel’s Agricultural Research Organization (ARO) were an integral part of the team that developed Future Crops’ cutting-edge technology.

The funding round follows a $30 million seed funding from a private equity arm run by the Lerman Family, leaders in the American steel industry to finance the construction of their state-of-the-art facility and to build their team of experts. This is the first time Future Crops has sought investment beyond its initial round of funding.

Hours after the announcement, the Washignton Post uncovered an investigation led by Chinese regulators. Indeed, Financial regulators recently found that WeChat Pay (A subsidiary of Tencent) had violated Chinese anti-money laundering rules and failed to comply with "know your customer" and "know your business" rules, according to the newspaper. According to the newspaper, the PBOC uncovered the violations of Chinese rules during a routine inspection of WeChat Pay that ended in late 2021.

China has recently launched an anti-money laundering campaign and many Chinese tech giants have faced dramatic share price drops. Since the start of the program, Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Holdings, two Chinese Tech Giants, have lost over $1 Trillion in valuation and are expected to further lose as the investigations progress.

Will this hamper Future Crops Growth? Read the rest here .

3- In A Funding Round Led By Lewis & Clark, IUNU Raises $24 Million To Accelerate Its Development

In an oversubscribed Series B funding round led by Lewis & Clark Ventures, IUNU raises $24 million to grow its market positioning and product offering. This funding round has seen existing shareholders S2G Ventures, Ceres Partners and Astanor Ventures participate. As part of the Series B, Suhas Narayanaswamy, Principal at Lewis and Clark AgriFood has joined the IUNU Board of Directors. Read the rest here.

4- Local Bounti? To Acquire Pete's? For $122.5 Million Creating Leading CEA Operator

Local Bounti? this morning announced plans to acquire, California based Hollandia Produce Group, Inc (Also known as Pete's?) for USD 122.5 million through cash and their lending facility with Cargill. In the meantime, the company has announced that they have increased sales by 678% in 2021 but increased their EBITDA loss.

Since the announcement, investors have been reacting positively to the news as the share price has steadily increased over the past 3 days (Opening of the daily candle at 5.28 on the 15th and closing at 6.4 on the 17th). The company is yet to recover from its All-time high at 10.62. Read the rest here .

5- Vertical Farming In Sweden, Here Are 4 Companies Leading The Market

Greenfood, a Swedish agtech, is collaborating with food-tech startup Agtira to create the future of urban farming and implement its operations in 10 strategic locations throughout the country. Yet, another Swedish company developing new systems for controlled environment agriculture. Over the years, the country has sought new solutions to decrease its reliance on food imports. Here are 4 companies contributing to Sweden's food security.

6- After Brexit & The Pandemic, The UK Is Seeking Its Food Independence Through Vertical Farming

The combined effect of Brexit and the pandemic have exacerbated pressure on the food supply chain in England. Food prices have increased since (not helped by the Ukrainian war) and this led retailers and government bodies to rethink the food supply chain in the United Kingdom. Technology is seen as a potential answer to the current challenges faced by part of the food sector and specifically Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). Many companies have since attracted millions in funding rounds (Vertical Future ￡21m series A or GrowUp Farms' ￡100m funding) and are positioning themselves as market leaders in Europe and, to some extent, in the world. Discover them here .

7- Interstellar Labs Raises USD 5 Million As Space Farming Gains Traction On Earth

Space Farming is not a new concept but an increasing number of private companies are conducting research and conceptualizing space farms for future Lunar or Mars bases, which is fairly new. Recently, the Los Angeles-Paris based company raised 5 million euros to further the development of their product on Earth. Interstellar Lab aims at deploying its modules as part of NASA’s Artemis program and for future Mars exploration missions. They join a list of private companies developing solutions for future space exploration. Discover them here .

8- Canadian Governments Bids On AgTech To Tackle Current Farming Challenges

The Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bideau, announced an announcement of over $860,000 in six businesses under the Innovative Solutions Canada program. Read the rest here .

9- Urban-Gro Acquires Emerald Construction Management, Inc

The company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Emerald Construction Management Inc. (“Emerald C.M.”), a 37-year old Colorado-based construction management firm providing comprehensive construction and supervisory services, from initial design through final build-out. Emerald C.M. expects 2021 revenues of $26.5 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 million. The total purchase price for the transaction, inclusive of a maximum $2.0 million contingent earnout, is $7.0 million. urban-gro will fund the transaction with a combination of $2.5 million in cash and up to $4.5 million in equity. The transaction is expected to close within 60 days, pending successful completion of due diligence, and the Company expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings in 2022. Read the rest here .

10- Champerché, A Bioponic Farm In An Underground Car Park Near Paris

Champerché opened its first urban farm in 2019 in Paris. Starting off with a 42 square meter facility, the founders managed to produce over 3 tons of produce (mostly aromatics) last year alone and today aim at increasing their production rate to 28/ 30 tons of hyper-local produce in their new facility in Sartrouville. Located in the heart of the Cité des Indes de Sartrouville, Champerché has rehabilitated a 1.300 square meter space to grow basil, salads and edible flowers. Read the rest here .