GV, the corporate venturing subsidiary of internet and technology group Alphabet formerly known as Google Ventures, led a $90m series B round for US-based indoor farm operator Bowery on Wednesday.
The round also featured Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek, venture capital firms General Catalyst, First Round and GGV Capital, and agriculture-focused VC fund Almanac Ventures. Andy Wheeler, a general partner at GV, is joining Bowery’s board of directors.
Bowery pursues an indoor farming model where it grows vegetables free of pesticides or genetically-modified organisms in vertical rows in locations close to major cities, meaning it can supply customers more quickly and easily.
The company piloted the model on a single farm outside New York City before expanding with a far larger second farm in the state of New Jersey.
Irving Fain, Bowery’s founder and chief executive, said: “While this latest financing is an important step toward our goal of democratising access to fresh, local food, we have a lot of work in front of us.
“We plan to use this new funding across three main areas: building out our operations, expanding our products and partnerships, and growing our team to do both.”
More precisely, Bowery intends to open a series of farms in the next year that will be connected to each other using a proprietary operating system created by the company. It also plans to accelerate hiring as it looks to expand the range of produce it supplies.
GV had previously invested in Bowery’s $20m series A round, which was co-led by General Catalyst and GGV Capital, in June 2017. It followed a $7.5m seed round led by First Round Capital that included Lerer Hippeau Ventures, BoxGroup and chef Tom Colicchio.
Image courtesy of Bowery, Inc.
