Abu Dhabi start-up Pure Harvest Smart Farms has raised US$180.5mln in its latest funding round as it looks to expand further into the GCC and Asia.
The agritech start-up that specialises in growing food in harsh climates plans to combine growth capital with debt financing to fund expansion.
An investor consortium including UK-based Metric Capital Partners as well as several existing investors supported the financing.
As Gulf countries are prone to harsh climates, limited water supplies, and a lack of arable land they tend to import most of their fresh produce, leading to 90% of the UAE's food imported, costing the country around US$14bn in 2020.
When Covid-19 disrupted global supply chains, Pure Harvest seized the opportunity as its climate-controlled greenhouses can grow crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, and strawberries in the middle of the UAE desert.
"At Pure Harvest, we have demonstrated we can reliably deploy our high-tech farming solutions across the GCC," said Sky Kurtz, co-founder and chief executive at Pure Harvest, in a statement.
"Now it is time to enter new markets that share similar challenges to our own, fast-growing populations, seasonal import-dependence, and an awareness of the crippling effects that short-term crises and climate change, are having on our global food system."
Metric Capital Partners, the London headquartered, pan-European private equity investor was a co-lead investor.
Bjørn Tessiore, partner at Metric Capital Partners said, "It’s clear that controlled-environment agriculture is becoming increasingly important as a solution to food security issues while also mitigating the environmental impact of food production."
"We believe Pure Harvest is extremely well-positioned to thrive in this growing market driven by its excellent team, innovative approach, and proven track record of building and operating at scale in a region characterised by difficult climatic conditions for agriculture."
