February 27, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) startup Hippo Harvest announced it has secured $21 million in Series B funding led by Standard Investments and including Congruent Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Hawthorne Food Ventures, and Energy Impact Partners to advance its first-of-its-kind modular greenhouse design platform. 

The intersection of greenhouse production of fresh produce and technology represents a critical and rapidly evolving field within agriculture where technology plays a pivotal role in transforming traditional greenhouse farming into highly efficient, data-driven, and environmentally sustainable systems.

These advancements are crucial in addressing food security challenges, reducing the environmental impact of agriculture, and meeting the growing demand for fresh produce in an increasingly urbanized world.

Aside from the ecological benefits of reduced water and fertilizer usage, and the reduction of methane-producing agricultural waste caused by traditional farming, Hippo Harvest’s approach also addresses a critical need to reduce climate change-related volatility in the fresh food supply chain without sacrificing accessibility and affordability at commercial scale. 

Founded in 2019, Hippo Harvest operates a novel, repurposed greenhouse facility located in Pescadero, California, that out-competes traditional greenhouses in scalability and unit economics while meeting traditional outdoor-grown produce prices. 

The company uses a closed-loop, non-recirculating, direct-to-root fertilizer system, machine learning, and autonomous mobile robots to calculate and efficiently distribute water, fertilizer, light, and heating on a microclimate basis, resulting in a significant cost savings and resource efficiency. 

When taken as a whole, this production system increases the availability of locally grown fresh food and provides communities with more accessible water, a cleaner environment, and safer, more stable agricultural jobs. 

“Since inception, Hippo has delivered superior produce while maintaining cost efficiencies,” said Logan Ashcraft, principal, Standard Investments, who, as a part of this partnership, is joining Hippo’s Board of Directors.

“Standard invests in companies disrupting traditional industry and we are thrilled to partner with Hippo on its journey to scale.”

Hippo Harvest explained that its methods increase food safety and extend shelf life by up to 30 percent compared to field-grown produce due to a range of unique factors:

~ The plants are irrigated with purified water mixed with a customized nutrient blend from below, rather than above, reducing the risk of contamination and fungus formation caused by water and nutrients touching the leaves. 

~ The system uses off-the-shelf robots with customized attachments to tend and harvest the plants, delivering precise levels of water and inputs for healthier crops. 

~ All production is carried out in a clean, controlled greenhouse, reducing damage and quality variations that can occur in field production. 

~ The company uses beneficial insects, natural oils, and other pesticide-free practices instead of conventional chemical pesticides. 

~ Products are packaged on-site immediately after harvesting using 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. 

Additionally, underscoring its mission, the company signed The Climate Pledge, a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism for businesses to reach net zero by 2040. And with this new funding, intends to scale its greenhouse operations and to expand its product offerings into new categories of leafy greens. 

“We’re excited by the opportunity to scale our production and reach more consumers with high-quality, sustainable produce,” said Eitan Marder-Eppstein, CEO, Hippo Harvest.

“Our team’s work over the past twelve months demonstrates our ability to create modular, cost-effective growing systems that can be deployed across the country. We look forward to working with our investors to make it a reality.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief 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 Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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