The indoor farming company builds greenhouse farms near supermarkets in major cities in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Illinois to provide access to locally grown, pesticide-free and non-GMO produce.
BrightFarms supplies a number of major U.S. supermarkets, including Walmart, Shoprite, ACME and Giant. “We have a bold vision to change the way Americans get their produce and this round will help us achieve our goals,” BrightFarms CEO, Paul Lightfoot said. It plans to open farms in Ohio this year and in Texas next year.
- A growing trend… Ventures all over the U.S., like AeroFarms, Crop One, Four Season Farm, and the world, like Scotland’s Nortenergy and Germany’s Infarm, are raising millions from investors to accelerate indoor farming.
- Unusual champion… Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, a media company, led the BrightFarms Series D round. Cox backed BrightFarms as part of its sustainability initiative, Cox Conserves, which plans to invest $100 million in environmental causes.
- Reinvestments… Existing investors Catalyst Investors, WP Global Partners and NGEN Partners also participated in the round.
