Korea's IMM leads $64m round for vertical farming company

Franklin Templeton, Wafra International Investment, Shuaa Capital, Sancta Capital, Archer Private Investments, and 2040 Fund also participated, while angel investors contributed $7 million. It brings total funding to $271.6 million, which is said to be the most money raised by any agriculture technology company in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA).

The capital will be used in part to drive an Asian expansion in partnership with Korean vertical farming leader PlanTFarm. IMM is the largest shareholder in both PlanTFarm and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) player Farm8, which is expected to go public next year.

“We are impressed with Pure Harvest’s journey, their compelling business case, and their ability to reliably produce in one of the most challenging environments in the world,” Hyun-Chan Cho, a partner at IMM, said in a statement. Cho, a former director of Asia infrastructure and natural resources at the International Finance Corporation, will join the Pure Harvest board.

“This year underlined just how vulnerable global supply chains are, and we believe Pure Harvest is one of the game-changing companies that - through pioneering CEA in harsh climates - will deliver a sustainable source of food to the MENASA region. We highly value the caliber and pedigree of the management team, the strong sense of mission, and the high-performance culture at the company.”

Pure Harvest uses Dutch-developed greenhouse growing technology to grow vegetables year-round in the Middle East with a specialization in vine crops such as tomatoes, capsicum, cucumbers, eggplants, and strawberries. The idea is to overcome local climate challenges –specifically, heat and humidity during the summer months – to deliver European-quality produce to customers.

Operations currently include three farms in the United Arab Emirates, with the latest investment to support two more farms under development in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Upon completion of these projects, the company will have 18 hectares of production capacity and employ more than 300 people.

Between the Korean joint venture and Gulf area expansion, Pure Harvest expects to establish itself as a fully diversified CEA operator with a portfolio spanning retailer-integrated in-store farms to large-scale, warehouse-style indoor vertical farms. The broader technology suite is hoped to allow for production of a wider range of crops anywhere in the world, including the harshest climate environments.

“Our goal is to back founders who have a strong sense of purpose and Pure Harvest is building the right solution for a world in which we will have less water and more extreme climate conditions,” Mahmoud Adi, a founding partner at Shorooq, added. “Pure Harvest is not just a regional champion, but a pioneer that will take its solutions to scale internationally.”

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Technology
• Industrials
• Expansion
• MENA
• South Korea
• IMM Investment
• Franklin Templeton
• Agriculture