Key Takeaways:
- Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) raises £22.5 million in Series C funding for global expansion.
- The funding will support the deployment of IGS’s vertical farming technology worldwide.
- IGS announced a partnership with ReFarm to build a 900,000 square foot GigaFarm in the UAE.
- The GigaFarm aims to replace 1% of the UAE’s food imports and recycle over 50,000 tonnes of food waste annually.
- Andrew Lloyd appointed as new CEO and Sonya Hotson as CFO to lead the company’s next growth phase.
Series C Fundraise and Investor Support
Intelligent Growth Solutions has announced a substantial £22.5 million Series C fundraise to facilitate significant global expansion. This strategic move comes as the company prepares to deploy its advanced vertical farming technology to customers around the world. The funding round was led by existing institutional investors, including COFRA Holding AG, DC Thomson, and S2G Ventures, with support from Cleveland Avenue LLC, Ospraie Ag Science, and ScottishEnterprise. Contributions also came from private shareholders and IGS staff.
The UAE GigaFarm Project
Following its announcement at COP28, IGS is collaborating with Dubai-based ReFarm to construct a groundbreaking GigaFarm in the United Arab Emirates. This massive 900,000 square foot facility is set to revolutionize food production in the region, aiming to replace 1% of the UAE’s food imports. The farm will also implement a waste-to-value system capable of recycling over 50,000 tonnes of food waste and growing two billion plants each year.
Leadership Changes at IGS
With this new phase of growth, IGS welcomes changes in its leadership. Andrew Lloyd, previously the Deputy CEO, takes over the helm from David Farquhar as CEO, positioning the company to deliver the world’s first GigaFarm. Sonya Hotson, who played a pivotal role in securing the Series C funding as interim CFO since July, joins the company full time. Both Lloyd and Hotson will serve on the IGS board, bringing their expertise to guide the company through this transformational period.
A Transformational Year Ahead
CEO Andrew Lloyd expressed that the upcoming year would be transformational for IGS, highlighting the potential of the Middle East market and its impact on food security. He also extended gratitude to former CEO David Farquhar for his visionary leadership, which propelled IGS from a concept to a leader in vertical farm technology. Lloyd praised Sonya Hotson for her instrumental role in the funding process and her subsequent full-time appointment.
Intelligent Growth Solutions Latest News
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) partners with ReFarm for Dubai’s GigaFarm project (2023/12/06)
IGS and ReFarm will build GigaFarm, a 900,000 sq. ft. facility in Dubai, using circularity, clean technologies, and six technologies for efficient resource use. The project aims to recycle food waste and grow over three million kilos of produce annually, contributing to UAE’s food security and reducing food imports by 1%.
Read more here.
Achieves B Corp Certification (2023/11/16)
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has achieved B Corp certification, reflecting its high environmental and social governance standards. The company’s expansion, including a tripling of its workforce and global deployment of its technology, marks a significant milestone in its commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. IGS views this achievement as the beginning of a journey towards further positive impact, remaining committed to enhancing its processes across various domains.
New Relic Signs New Vertical Farming Customer: IGS (2023/03/22)
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has adopted New Relic, according to a statement from New Relic (NYSE: NEWR), to foster innovation and maintain real-time visibility throughout its network of indoor vertical farming towers. IGS has access to more than 30 monitoring tools with New Relic, allowing the business to identify problems and find solutions more quickly and effectively than ever before. Moreover, IGS gains insight into system performance thanks to the New Relic all-in-one strategy, enabling it to see trends and patterns that could affect the dependability and accessibility of its vertical expansion towers. The application performance monitoring (APM) agent from New Relic has made it possible to reduce resolution times by 80% and costs by 58%, improve developer productivity, comprehend linkages among microservices, and make installation simple.
Andrea Zopp Joines Intelligent Growth Solutions’ Board (2022/12/19)
Andrea Zopp has joined the board of Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS), a company that provides an agricultural infrastructure with its headquarters in Edinburgh. Ms. Zopp is a skilled corporate executive and lawyer with extensive expertise in company transactions, legal disputes, and human resources. She joins IGS’ non-executive team to further the company’s international growth as it increases its ability to provide its vertical farming equipment to clients on four continents. Ms. Zopp graduated from Harvard College with a BA in History of Science and from Harvard Law School with a JD.
Loveland, Colorado Set To Be IGS’ North American HQ (2022/11/17)
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) is expanding and has chosen Loveland, Colorado as its North American headquarters. The move will allow the company to better serve its North American customers, which is its fastest-growing market. Loveland’s skilled labor pool was also a factor in the decision. IGS expects to create 114 new jobs with an average annual wage of $98,991. The state of Colorado will provide up to $2,758,845 in tax credits to IGS over eight years.
Intelligent Growth Solutions Partners with HarvestUp To Build Vertical Farm at Missouri Technical College (2022/11/09)
Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) and HarvestUp have partnered to build a vertical farm at the Ranken Technical College Campus in Missouri. The farm will consist of four IGS Growth Towers and will provide students with a hands-on learning environment where they can learn about vertical farming, IT, construction, and HVAC systems. The produce from the farm will be sold to local retailers, and the companies plan to expand the number of towers in the future. Construction is expected to begin in early 2023.
HSWT Partners with Intelligent Growth Solutions (2022/08/02)
On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, members of the HSWT met with representatives of the company Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) in the Salettl at the Hofgarten Weihenstephan to cooperate. As one of the world’s leading Agritech companies, IGS supplies cutting-edge technology in the field of vertical farming. The partnership sets strategically important groundwork in order to position the university as the point of contact in Bavaria for this innovative field of research.
IGS Partners With CubicAcres To Deliver Tech To East-Coast USA (2022/06/23)
Indoor agritech specialist Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has partnered with CubicAcres to expand its commercial operations on the East Coast of the USA. CubicAcres plans to use IGS vertical farming technology to grow salad crops such as Romaine lettuce and produce up to 2.5 million heads of lettuce per year. The eight-tower farm will provide CubicAcres with a precision-controlled indoor ecosystem that is highly flexible, scalable and requires no arable land or soil. The project will bring investment and new jobs to the region, and the farm will be fully operational by early 2023.
Image provided by IGS
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