AmplifiedAg Closes on $40M to Advance Its Hydroponic Container Farming Model

August 11, 2021

photo credit: AmplifiedAg

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

AmplifiedAg has successfully raised $40 million in equity funding in support of the expansion of its world-leading hydroponic container farm model and its holistic operating system.

Stating that “it’s time to re-localize our food systems…”, AmplifiedAg has a vision to create a global network of indoor farms to provide all people access to safe food. To accomplish this goal, the company upcycles decommissioned shipping containers into automated farms powered by AmpEDGE, its operating system that uniquely combines environment monitoring and control of light, temperature, humidity, irrigation flow, water temperature, and pH and EC levels with business operations for end-to-end management of indoor farms.

Agricultural production in the U.S. accounts for 50 percent of the country’s land, 80 percent of its fresh water supply, and 10 percent of its total emissions. AmplifiedAg is dedicated to food production that can feed a growing population while consuming less natural resources and aligning with the ESG pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals for Business as defined by the UN.

Known as Vertical Roots, the company’s hydroponic container farm has grown to be the largest in the world in less than four years, growing multiple varieties of 100 percent pesticide-free, mature, fresh leafy greens.

Granted, there are multiple CEA models of food production. So, why shipping containers? Discover Containers outlines a range of benefits including:

~ Their modularity, ease of transport, placement, or even stacking allows them to provide a level of flexibility.

~ Their size is wide enough to allow for a central walking path with multiple layers of growing areas on both sides that can be accessed easily.

~ And commoditization; used containers are generally inexpensive, plentiful, and generally available in close proximity to almost any potential production site. 

Currently there are three farm sites – Charleston, South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia – with operations in South Carolina producing more than 5 million heads of lettuce per year. All together, Vertical Roots provides produce to 1,700 major grocery stores across 12 states, including Publix, Harris Teeter, and Whole Foods, along with universities, schools, and restaurants.

“Our demonstrated ability to scale our indoor farms and technology is leading to discussions with strategic and financial partners, and we expect to consummate additional financing later this year to further accelerate Vertical Roots’ presence across the Country,” said Don Taylor, CEO, AmplifiedAg.

Distinctive to AmplifiedAg, the company employs a strategy of operating Vertical Roots farms directly at distribution facilities, thereby eliminating a significant portion of necessary transportation and reducing emissions while providing consumers with the freshest, locally-grown produce.

Taylor commented, “We’re dually focused to deploy Vertical Roots farms across the country as close to the point of consumption as possible, while advancing and expanding AmplifiedAg’s global network of proven technologies and farms to others in the CEA industry.”

The company stated that it intends to use the capital secured through this round to fund its expansion into north and central Florida, to extend Vertical Root’s dominant position as the market leader in the CEA and vertical farming space in the U.S. southeast region.

 

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain NewsShe can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com

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