August 6, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

As AppHarvest prepares to open the world’s largest indoor farm in Morehead, Kentucky, the high-tech, climate-controlled greenhouse developer has made a series of significant announcements.

These announcements are being made as the company prepares to unveil its 2.76-million square foot controlled environment agriculture facility, which will in time create 300 full time permanent jobs in Eastern Kentucky – a region where unemployment exceeds the national average by 44 percent – and a region where AppHarvest is working to develop into a U.S. Appalachian agtech hub.

“It’s time for agriculture in America to change,” said Johnathan Webb, founder and CEO, AppHarvest. “The pandemic has demonstrated the need to establish more resilient food systems, and our work is on the forefront of that effort. Eastern Kentucky, with its central U.S. location, provides the perfect place to build AppHarvest’s indoor farms while also providing much needed jobs to a ready workforce.”

AppHarvest believes that there already exists the technology needed to significantly increase food production. The company’s indoor farm greatly reduces the acreage needed, uses no pesticides, eases the burden of long-distance shipping and fuel usage, and is the first facility of its scale to rely solely on recycled rainwater to meet its water needs. Through the integration of this closed-loop water system, agricultural production can occur without the runoff issues often encountered with traditional agricultural production.

From its location in Central Appalachia, AppHarvest will also be within less than a day’s drive to 70 percent of the entire U.S. population – lowering diesel fuel costs by 80 percent, and giving its non-GMO, chemical-free fruits and vegetables a competitive advantage against low-cost foreign imports. 

All-Aboard

AppHarvest has made numerous high-profile additions to its board – announcing the addition of icon and entrepreneur Martha Stewart; CEO of Impossible Foods, David Lee; investor and best-selling author J.D. Vance; and Anna Mason, partner at Rise of the Rest Seed Fund led by AOL co-founder, Steve Case. 

“The future of food will be, has to be, growing nutrient-rich and delicious produce closer to where we eat,” Stewart said. “That means food that tastes better and food that we feel better about consuming. AppHarvest is driving us towards that future and working from within Appalachia to elevate the region.” 

J.D. Vance added that recent developments surrounding COVID-19 have laid bare the fault lines in our food systems, noting that AppHarvest can pose a solution by building a sustainable, durable business in Appalachia, and investing in its people. 

This board expansion is concurrent with AppHarvest closing on a $28 million Series C that lifts the company’s total funding to more than $150 million raised over the course of only two years.

This round was led by Narya, a new VC investor co-founded by J.D. Vance and Colin Greenspon, and backed by leading entrepreneur and VC investor Peter Thiel.

Also participating in the round were existing investors ValueAct Capital’s Spring Fund, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, and Equilibrium – which invested $82 million in the company last year. 

New investors to come onboard included Lupa Systems – a sustainability-focused private investment firm founded last year by James Murdoch; Breyer Capital, which was founded by early Facebook investor Jim Breyer; S2G ventures; Black Capital, headed by NBA player Kevin Johnson; and Endeavor Catalyst, the co-investment vehicle by which Endeavor invests in companies founded by its entrepreneurs.

“AppHarvest is poised to be a leader of the modern agricultural transformation, and we’re enthused to be a part of its upcoming launch and growth phases both in the U.S. and internationally,” said Frederic Michel, partner, Lupa Systems. “The team is developing a compelling model that can respond rapidly to the needs for efficiency, sustainability, quality, and resiliency in the food sector today.”

The capital raised through this funding will be used by the company to expand its team by recruiting top-tier talent from the global pool as its positions itself to launch additional farms throughout Central Appalachia.

“AppHarvest’s rapid expansion and job creation is exactly what Rise of the Rest envisioned with its focus on helping companies in Middle America grow,” said Anna Mason, partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. 

And speaking of team expansion, the company has also announced three new hires: Marcella Butler as the company’s first chief people officer; Jackie Roberts as its first chief sustainability officer; and Geof Rochester as its first chief marketing officer.

Butler joins AppHarvest from Impossible Foods where she served as that company’s first chief people Oofficer, tripling the size of its team to more than 650 employees. Prior to Impossible Foods, Butler was with Google, where she was in People Operations, followed by Corporate Development, where she led global acquisition due diligence and integration.

Jackie Roberts joins AppHarvest from Tej Carlyle Group where she served as chief sustainability officer. Prior to that role, she was with the Environmental Defense Fund where she held a number of positions.

Geof Rochester brings decades of experience in marketing and corporate social responsibility, having served as managing director and chief marketing officer for The Nature Conservancy, and previously with WWE, Showtime, Comcast, and Procter & Gamble. 

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.