Infarm: modular farms for urban agriculture

One of the main challenges facing agriculture is product localization. In the current model, farm produce comes from the countryside, is centralized and then sent back to the cities. These logistics generate millions of tonnes of CO2. To address this problem, a growing number of startups are proposing solutions for integrating agriculture into the city.

Infarm’s vertical farms (indoor farming)

Infarm is a Berlin-based startup offering vertical hydroponic farms. The business model initially consisted of placing them in supermarkets, where they provide direct access to hyper-fresh produce. A 2m² container would correspond to 250m² of farmland, using 95% less water, 75% less fertilizer and no pesticides. [To be verified] Now, they are developing modular industrial production units measuring 18 meters by 25m², which could produce the equivalent of 10,000m² of farmland.

Infarm is part of the very popular trend of container farms (also known as “indoor farming”), a form of urban agriculture, producing vegetables hydroponically. This production method enables precise control of plant growth conditions, optimizes the use of inputs (fertilizers, water) and eliminates the need for pesticides. As all the installations are connected, the startup will have a wealth of data at its disposal to improve its processes.

Like most startups of this type, they produce vegetables with high added value (often very expensive per kg): small salads, “microgreens” peas, aromatic herbs, mushrooms,

The problem is obviously the yield of these plants, the need for manpower, the investment required and the price of energy to run them. The comparison with farmland seems irrelevant: it simply has nothing to do with field crops. The claim that this system is“up to 400 times more efficient than conventional agriculture” seems dubious. It would be interesting to compare with comparable productions (e.g. lettuce, mushrooms).

Infarm: foundation and financing

Infarm was founded in 2013 in Berlin by Osnat Michaeli, Erez Galonska and Guy Galonska. It has raised considerable sums through several fundraising rounds (“tours de table”): almost $600 million!

• Series A: $25 million by Balderton Capital, Cherry Venture, LocalGlobe, Mons Investment, Quadia and TriplePoint Capital in February 2018
• Series B: $100 million from Atomico, Astonor Ventures, Balderton Capital, Cherry Ventures and TriplePoint Capital in July 2019
• Series C: $170 million from Atomico, Astanor Ventures, Bonnier Ventures, Hanaco Ventures Capital, Haniel, Latitude, Lightrock, Tres Monos Capital and TriplePoint Capital in September 2020
• 100 million from Hanaco Venture Capital and Atomico in March 2021.
• a further $200 million from Hanaco Venture Capital, Partners in Equity, Lightrock, Bonner Ventures, Atomico and Qatar Investment Authority. in 2021

Infarm is said to be present in over 50 in 11 countries and“manages more than 17 production centers and over 1,400 farms in store“. In particular, it has set up operations in Japan with Infarm Japan in 2020, and in Qatar. In France, the startup has an avenue production site in Villeneuve la Garenne (92, France).

Infarm Indoor Urban Farming France is domiciled at 32 avenue Marc Sangnier, 92390 Villeneuve-La-Garenne and has been registered with the nanterre commercial court registry under RCS 848 714 481 since February 2019.

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