A Berlin-based agri startup which creates urban farms to grow vegetables inside retailers has raised $100m (£78.5m) in funding.
London venture capital firm Atomico has announced its partnership with Infarm after raising the significant sum in a series B round of equity and debt funding.
Founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli, and brothers Erez and Guy Galonska, the startup offers urban areas solutions to achieve high-quality, self-sustaining food production.
Infarm uses the world’s most advanced 'modular farms' that can transform any retail space and fulfil market demand.
The vertical farming units are unique because they are distributed and not centralised.
According to Atomico, they are more efficient than soil-based agriculture because its data-driven and biodiverse.
Infarm have so far partnered with 25 major food retailers including Edeka, Metro, Migros, Casino, Intermarche, Auchan, Selgros, and Amazon fresh in Germany, Switzerland, and France.
It has deployed nearly 300 farms in 150 stores, producing approximately 500,000 plants.
They aim to be in 10,000 supermarkets by 2022, serving 350 million people, and by 2050, to be the leading provider of fresh produce for people living in urban centres.
The news follows UK online grocery firm Ocado investing almost £17m in advanced indoor farming systems in a bid to become a 'leader' in the newly emerging industry.
