When the market was booming, tech investors poured billions into companies designing new ways to farm. Now some of those bets seem to be withering.
Fifth Season, a Pittsburgh-based vertical farming company, told employees this fall that it was closing. Berlin-based Indoor Urban Farming GmbH, worth more than $1 billion, laid off about 500 employees last month. And greenhouse startup AppHarvest, which went public through a special-purpose buyout company last year, has seen its stock fall more than 90% since its 2022 high. investors that it was short on funds, AppHarvest recently sold one of its farms and plans to lease it back.
