INFARM

Osnat Michaeli and the Galonska brothers grew up eating their grandmother's homegrown produce in Israel and wanted to bring that freshness to urban supermarkets. They launched in Berlin in 2013 with a modular growing unit concept: a self-contained farm module, controlled by software, that could be placed anywhere.

The technology worked. Herbs and baby greens grew reliably.

The modular units got media attention and retail partnerships. SoftBank's Vision Fund poured $200M+ in, and Infarm went on a global expansion — building farms across the US, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Japan.

Each expansion required new capital. The capital was available until it wasn't.

Infarm operated a network of modular vertical farms — growing units that could be placed inside supermarkets, distribution centers, and warehouses. It sold fresh herbs and leafy greens directly to retailers like Whole Foods, Metro AG, and Marks & Spencer.

The model was "farming as a service" — Infarm owned the growing units, managed them remotely, and charged retailers for the produce output. The business required massive capital to build and install hundreds of growing units and never achieved the cost efficiency needed to be competitive with conventional agriculture.

Modular vertical farm units, in-store growing systems for supermarkets, fresh herbs and leafy greens direct to retail

Infarm expanded to 11 countries at peak, installed units in high-profile retail locations, and struck deals with major supermarket chains. It acquired a Canadian farming company (WPS) to expand capacity.

The strategy assumed continued capital availability and declining energy costs — both assumptions proved wrong simultaneously.

Vertical farming's unit economics are brutal. Energy costs are the killer — growing lettuce under LED lights 24 hours a day costs more than growing it outside in California sun.

Infarm's premium "just-in-store" produce commanded higher prices than conventional competitors, but not high enough to cover the energy, labor, and equipment costs at scale. When rising interest rates made cheap capital disappear in 2022–2023, the business model collapsed.

Infarm had never achieved profitability and could not raise the capital needed to continue.

Atomico, Mons Royale, Draper Esprit, LGT Lightstone, Koch Disruptive Technologies, SoftBank Vision Fund