Digital Media Marketer Turned Urban Farmer Raises Series B from Google
Posted on 12/13/2018
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings continues to plow money into agriculture and agtech investments. New York-based Bowery raised US$ 90 million in a Series B round that was led by GV (formerly Google Ventures). Other investors in the Series B round include Temasek, GGV Capital, General Catalyst, First Round Capital, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and David Barber’s fund Almanac. Is this a technology company growing something real and edible? Yes.
Bowery started in October 2014 and raised US$ 117.5 million since its creation. Bowery raised US$ 20 million in a Series A round in January 2017. Bowery was co-founded by Irving Fain. Fain is a former executive of iHeartMedia, who specializes in digital marketing. He is also a co-founder of CrowdTwist, Inc., a digital marketing analytic startup.
The company uses its own internal operating system to monitor plants and optimize their growth without using pesticides. Bowery claims it uses 95% less water compared to mainstream farming methods. Bowery sells its produce, such as mustard greens, kale mix, and romaine, to places like fast causal chain Sweetgreen, Whole Foods, Dig Inn, and Foragers. Bowery opened its first farm in February 2017.
