Vertical farming operation Future Crops gets additional funding

Vertical farming tech startup Future Crops has announced a new round of investment led by Tencent.

An Israeli-Dutch venture, Future Crops has developed advanced vertical farming from cutting-edge technology that uses a unique soil-like substrate to better reproduce the natural environment. The high-tech farm grows fresh, clean, ultra-sustainable, high 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. 

Future Crops had already raised over $30 million in 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.

“We are tremendously excited about this investment,” said Gary Grinspan, CEO and co-founder of Future Crops. “Tencent’s investment reflects the company’s focus on sustainable innovations and support for technologies, like vertical farming, which can create clean, locally grown sustainable food while helping to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. We believe our soil-substrate-based platform is closer to nature and produces fresh, longer-lasting, higher-quality produce at improved yields, as plants grow best in soil.”

“Tencent supports companies creating solutions to the world’s most critical challenges, including technologies that can feed more people using fewer resources” said Ling Ge, Chief European Representative, Tencent. “Investments in sustainable agriculture technologies, such as vertical farm systems, aligns with our mission to apply technology for good.”