Vertical Harvest

Based in Wyoming, Vertical Harvest offers microgreens, lettuce, salad mixes, and tomatoes using hydroponics and controlled environment agriculture solutions. Vertical Harvest uses a hybrid lighting approach, where it uses a carousel system to rotate the grow racks closer to the walls to get the benefits of both natural sunlight and LED lighting. This way, the company claims that it can maximize its energy consumption. The company also claims that its farms can produce a 4x higher yield per acre using 85% less water and 90% less land compared to traditional farming.  Vertical Harvest sells its produce directly to customers via its own physical and online stores and through partnered distribution companies including Sodexo and Native Maine Produce & Specialty Foods.

The company engages in public-private partnerships to develop its farms in urban areas closer to housing, retail stores, and community spaces. As of April 2022, the company operated one vertical farm in Wyoming (13,500 sq ft and 100,000 lbs of produce per year), with another Vertical farm set to open in Maine by 2Q 2023 (70,000 sq ft). The Maine farm is expected to produce 2,000,000 lbs of leafy greens and will  supply schools, hospitals, restaurants, and retail customers. The company had stated plans to open 10 farms across Chicago, Providence, and Detroit over the following five years.

 In August 2023, Vertical Harvest introduced North America’s first vertical hydroponic greenhouse introducing indoor agriculture model to provide year-round fresh veggies in food deserts.

Key customers and partnerships

In June 2023, Vertical Harvest partnered with Bedrock to explore the development of Vertical Harvest Detroit, a 60,000 sq. ft. 74 feet tall and feature a 205,000 sq. ft. growing canopy that utilizes hydroponic, vertical and controlled environmental agricultural practices with a year-round produce of 2.2 million pounds of fresh vegetables, including Lettuces, Petite Greens, Microgreens and Herbs. Previously,In October 2023, Vertical Harvest has partnered with Food Bank of Wyoming to launch a pilot donation program, donating fresh and locally grown produce one monthly pickup in Jackson and delivery to Lander.

Fundings and Financials

In April 2024 , Vertical Harvest  raised USD 59.5 million in project financing, led by Madison One and Genisys Credit Union, as well as from the USDA Rural Development Business & Industry Loan Guarantees, Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), and Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, among other investors to develop and operate a 51,000 sq ft hydroponic vertical farm in downtown Westbrook, Maine, aiming to produce ~2.5 million pounds of fresh, leafy greens per annum. Previously, In April 2022, The company raised USD 8.35 million in Series A preferred stock funding led by Nicoya AB and Raiven Capital.