Pioneering indoor vertical farm company AeroFarms has announced the completion of a US$40 million investment round led by an international line-up of entities.

Companies including Dubai-based Meraas Holdings, London-based ADM Capital, NYC-based AB (AllianceBernstein), and Netherlands-based Ikea Group were all involved in the Series D financing.

There was also continued support from existing investors including London-based Wheatsheaf Group and Beijing-based GSR Ventures.

A number of individual investors also participated such as General David Petraeus and chef David Chang of the Momofuku Group.

AeroFarms just built its ninth farm to date in Newark, New Jersey, which is the world’s largest indoor vertical farm based on annual output.

Having raised a total of more than US$100 million in corporate and project financing, AeroFarms says it will use the latest round of funds for continued investment in leading R&D and technology and additional farm expansion around the world.

“We are happy to have been able to make room for Ikea and David Chang to close out our May financing," AeroFarms co-founder and CEO David Rosenberg said.

"Strategically partnering with additional major international investors and leaders with a shared vision and values demonstrates the maturity of our business and our ability to expand and have a global impact.

"We have built a world-class organization that has expertise in all aspects of horticulture, biology, engineering, automation, machine vision, building systems, food safety, and nutrition to manage the growing process from seed to package for a truly differentiated product."

He went on to say the world was at a "major inflection point" as it thought about the challenges of increasing population and urbanization, loss of fresh water and arable land, worker welfare, food safety, and food security.

"AeroFarms is uniquely positioned to address each of these areas with proprietary growing technology and unmatched growing history and expertise," he said.

"We are proud to have these investors join our core round of investors and partners like MissionPoint Capital, Middleland Capital, Prudential, and Goldman Sachs who continue to help us build our company.”

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