Saudi-based agricultural technology (AgTech) start-up Red Sea Farms has raised $16 million in an oversubscribed investment round, allowing it to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia and accelerate growth plans in the Middle East and North America.
Red Sea Farm’s unique technology, which enables the usage of saltwater and solar energy in commercial farming, proved popular in desert regions where access to freshwater is a challenge but where sunlight is abundant.
An initial investment of $10m was exceeded by $6m and was led by Saudi, UAE and US investors, indicating international and regional confidence in the GCC’s AgTech industry.
The funding will be used to expand the company’s Saudi and Middle East operations as well as explore international growth opportunities in countries where growing conditions are harsh, such as some parts of the US.
“Red Sea Farms is thrilled to have substantially exceeded its target for the current funding round. We look forward to working closely with our investors and our Red Sea Farms team to accelerate plans to roll out our technology in Saudi, the Middle East and North America,” said company CEO Ryan Lefers.
The initial investment of $10m came from a group of Saudi and UAE investors including the Aramco venture Wa’ed, the Saudi government-owned Future Investment Initiative, Institute, KAUST and Global Ventures, a UAE venture capital group.
With great excitement we announce that Red Sea Farms accelerates expansion following oversubscribed investment round #redseafarms #sustainableagriculture #sustainabletechnologyhttps://t.co/RgVJz2LCeW
— Red Sea Farms (@redseafarms) August 15, 2021
Interest was subsequently received from AppHarvest, US applied technology company building some of the world’s largest indoor farms in Appalachia and Bonaventure, who provided $6m.
In efforts to bolster its food security, the region – mainly the UAE and Saudi Arabia – has been investing heavily in AgTech innovations such as vertical farming.
In an earlier interview with Arabian Business, Lefers revealed that the start-up is already in preliminary discussions with countries in the Caribbean and other island nations in the Indian Ocean. The company is also eying North Africa, the southwest of the US, Mexico, Australia and South Asia among others, he added.
Ryan Lefers, co-founder and chief executive of Red Sea Farms.
Red Sea Farms is also in talks to expand to the UAE with both its technology and produce – but this is not the plan for other countries.
“In this region, we want to become both technology providers and growers. But then globally, our target is to deploy our technology to other regions because it’s been proven and validated here by us ourselves,” explained Lefers.
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