Iron Ox is a leading agriculture tech startup by Brandon Alexander based in Silicon Valley, California. Recently, the firm announced that it had secured about $53 Million in the latest “Series C” funding round.
The funding round was led by the new investor, Breakthrough Energy Ventures that strives for innovation in sustainable energy and other technologies that assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Multiple world’s top business leaders (about nineteen) supported the Series C funding of Iron Ox with a dedication to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Iron Ox began autonomous farming in 2018 that plants produce in proprietary greenhouses created from the base up to reduce agriculture’s environmental effect. It is a data-driven strategy supported by plant science, artificial intelligence, and Robotics.
Iron Ox has secured around $ 98 million in venture capital since its inception in 2015. Crosslink Capital, At One Ventures, Pathbreaker Ventures, Amplify Partners, R7 Partners, ENIAC Ventures, and Y Combinator are among those who have previously invested.
The closed-loop technology improves plant output, lengthens growth cycles, and improves crop quality. Consequently, delicious, healthy, locally produced fruits and vegetables are now at the same price as traditional farms but with far reduced environmental implications.
Brandon Alexander, Iron Ox Co-Founder, and CEO says that top investors are aware that humankind’s most crucial pursuance right now is to reverse the climate change effect. Furthermore, they can neither settle for incrementally more sustainable crops nor ask consumers to compromise on taste, convenience, or value to achieve this goal. Hence, Iron Ox aims to bring technology to reduce land, water, and energy required to feed a rising population. The Iron Ox team promises that they will not give up until they reach their long-term goal of making the produce industry carbon zero.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the agricultural sector’s the second most significant contributor to global warming. Agriculture is also a substantial contributor to land-use change, such as converting biodiverse forests into croplands. Without significant innovation, agricultural production’s greenhouse gas emissions might rise by 58 percent by 2050, which is highly dangerous for the whole world. Therefore, there is a need to generate sustainable technologies to overcome this emerging risk.
Iron Ox cultivates plants in natural sunlight, utilizing photosynthesis which is the 3-billion-year-old process by which plants consume solar energy and convert atmospheric CO2 into plant biomass, and is the most scalable carbon capture method on the planet. Iron Ox produces 30 times more produce per acre and utilizes 90% less water than traditional field farms.
Currently, Iron Ox runs farms in Northern California, and the company has just begun construction on a second 535,000 square foot indoor farm in Lockhart, Texas.
Iron Ox food is available across California at Whole Foods and other San Francisco Bay Area venues such as Mollie Stone’s and Bianchini’s Markets. Sales outside of California are scheduled to begin later this year, with the first harvest from the new Texas plant.
Iron Ox will utilize the latest funding to enhance its R & D projects, expedite manufacturing scaleup, and extend its operations across the United States. This investment will help to create a more sustainable world for humans.
