Freight Farms Raises $15 Million in Series B Funding Led by Ospraie Ag Science

Latest investment will accelerate market expansion and fuel new technology innovation and services for global network of farmers and corporate partners

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Freight Farms

Feb 12, 2020, 08:35 ET

BOSTON, Feb. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Freight Farms, the global innovation leader of containerized vertical farming, today announces that it has raised $15 million in Series B funding led by Ospraie Ag Science, an investment firm committed to supporting sustainable solutions that improve the quality of life for both farmers and society. The investment round, which received participation from existing investor Spark Capital, brings the company's total funding to more than $28 million.

Freight Farms’ Greenery can produce more than 500 varieties of crops like calendula (pictured) at commercial scale year-round, using 99.8% less water than traditional agriculture. Four rows of panels on a flexible moving rack system house more than 8,000 living plants at once, creating a dense canopy of fresh crops.

The Series B funding will be used to advance the technical potential of Freight Farms' platform through continued innovation, with new services designed to benefit its growing global network of farmers and corporate partners. The investment follows the announcement of Freight Farms' strategic national partnership with Sodexo to grow food onsite at educational and corporate campuses nationwide, and will support ongoing contributions to collaborative research projects and partnerships.

"Freight Farms has redefined vertical farming and made decentralizing the food system something that's possible and meaningful right now, not in the 'future of food,'" said Jason Mraz, President of Ospraie Ag Science. "Full traceability, high nutrition without herbicides and pesticides, year-round availability – these are elements that should be inherent to food sourcing. Freight Farms' Greenery makes it possible to meet this burgeoning global demand from campuses, hospitals, municipal institutions and corporate businesses, while also enabling small business farmers to meet these needs for their customers."

"It's a big step forward for the industry when financial markets recognize and champion the value of creating a distributed food system," added Brad McNamara, Freight Farms CEO. "Aligned on mission-driven growth as a team, there is a massive opportunity before us to scale across global markets, propelling meaningful technology that's already doing good."

Founded in 2010 by CEO Brad McNamara and COO Jon Friedman, Freight Farms debuted the first vertical hydroponic farm built inside an intermodal shipping container—the Leafy Green Machine—with the mission of democratizing and decentralizing the local production of fresh, healthy food. This innovation, with integral IoT data platform farmhand, launched a new category of indoor farming and propelled Freight Farms into the largest network of IoT-connected farms in the world. Freight Farm's 2019 launch of the Greenery raised the industry bar, advancing the limits of containerized vertical farming to put the most progressive, accessible, and scalable vertical farming technology into the hands of people of diverse industry, age, and mission.

"With the Greenery and farmhand, we've created an infrastructure that lowers the barrier of entry into food production, an industry that's historically been difficult to get into," said Jon Friedman, Freight Farms COO. "With this platform, we're also able to harness and build upon a wider set of technologies including cloud IoT, automation, and machine learning, while enabling new developments in plant science for future generations."

To date, Freight Farms has been an integral part of scientific and academic research studies in collaboration with industry-leading organizations including NASA— exploring self-sustaining crop production, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory— exploring the integration of CRISPR seed genetics and vertical farming to create commercial opportunity. Customers hail from education, hospitality, retail, corporate, and nonprofit sectors across 44 states and 25 countries, and include independent small business farmers who distribute to restaurants, farmers' markets, and businesses such as Central Market, Meijer, and Wendy's.

About Freight Farms
In 2012, Freight Farms debuted the first vertical hydroponic farm built inside an intermodal shipping container—the Leafy Green Machine—with the mission of democratizing and decentralizing the local production of fresh, healthy food. Now with the Greenery and integral IoT data platform, farmhand®, Freight Farms has the largest network of connected farms in the world, with global customers in 25 countries and 44 U.S. states ranging from small business farmers to corporate, hospitality, retail, education, and nonprofit sectors. To learn more, please visit freightfarms.com, or visit us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

About Ospraie Ag Science
Ospraie Ag Science LLC (OAS) identifies solutions to help farmers "Do More with Less." By increasing profitability, improving quality-adjusted yield, and reducing environmental impact, OAS's companies not only benefit producers, but generate smarter, healthier, and more efficient food for consumers globally. Utilizing its extensive network and 25 years of experience investing in agriculture, OAS is positioned to help farmers achieve a sustainable future.

SOURCE Freight Farms