Iron Ox Inc., a San Carlos, California-based automated farming startup, raised $53 million in a Series C round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures. This Series C funding round will bring the company’s total funding up to $98 million.
Other investors in the round included Crosslink Capital, R7 Partners, Pathbreaker Ventures, I/O Ventures, Amplify Partners, ENIAC Ventures, Tuesday Ventures, At One Ventures, and Y Combinator.
The company intends to use the new funds to expand its research and development programs, scale manufacturing, and continue operations across the United States. The company is also recruiting plant scientists, engineers, greenhouse operators, and roboticists.
Company: Iron Ox, Inc.
Raised: $53.0M
Round: Series C
Funding Month: September 2021
Lead Investors: Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Additional Investors: Crosslink Capital, R7 Partners, Pathbreaker Ventures, I/O Ventures, Amplify Partners, ENIAC Ventures, Tuesday Ventures, At One Ventures, and Y Combinator
Company Website: http://www.ironox.com/
Software Category: Automated Farming
About the Company: Iron Ox launched its first autonomous farm in 2018 and grows to produce in proprietary greenhouses designed from the ground up to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture using a data-driven approach with robotics and artificial intelligence. Iron Ox is currently expanding its robotics and AI capabilities. Thanks to that, its farms require 90% less water than traditional farms and use 90% less electricity than LED-based vertical farms. They also can generate 30 times more produce per acre of land. Iron Ox operates multiple farms in Northern California and earlier this year broke ground on a new 535,000 square-foot indoor farm in Lockhart, Texas. Iron Ox’s farms produce leafy greens, herbs, and berries, and the company is continually testing new crops. Food produced by Iron Ox farms can be bought throughout California at Whole Foods and other San Francisco Bay Area store locations, including Bianchini’s and Mollie Stone’s Markets. The company plans to begin shipping outside California later this year with the first harvest from the new Texas facility.
Source: https://siliconangle.com/2021/09/22/automated-farming-startup-iron-ox-raises-53m/