Hippo Harvest, a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) startup pioneering advanced greenhouse systems for sustainable produce, has closed a $21 million Series B funding round led by Standard Investments. Congruent Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Hawthorne Food Ventures, and Energy Impact Partners also participated in the round. The funding will fuel the expansion of Hippo Harvest’s greenhouse operations and the introduction of new leafy greens categories.
Established in 2019, Hippo Harvest operates a groundbreaking greenhouse facility in Pescadero, CA, reimagining traditional greenhouse farming with enhanced scalability and cost-effectiveness. Leveraging a closed-loop, non-recirculating fertilizer system and cutting-edge technology like machine learning and autonomous mobile robots, Hippo Harvest optimizes water, fertilizer, light, and heating distribution on a micro-climate basis within its greenhouses. This results in significantly more resource-efficient production of fresh produce while maintaining competitive prices and superior quality.
Eitan Marder-Eppstein, CEO of Hippo Harvest, expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to expand production and provide sustainable produce to a wider audience. He highlighted the team’s success in developing modular, cost-effective growing systems that can be deployed nationwide, emphasizing the company’s commitment to scalability and innovation.
Logan Ashcraft, Principal at Standard Investments, commended Hippo Harvest’s disruptive approach to traditional agriculture and expressed excitement about partnering with the company to drive its growth. Ashcraft will join Hippo’s Board of Directors.
Hippo Harvest’s farming methods prioritize food safety and sustainability, with practices that increase shelf life by up to 30% compared to outdoor-grown produce. By irrigating plants from below and utilizing off-the-shelf robots for precise tending and harvesting, the company minimizes the risk of pathogen and fungus formation while ensuring healthier plants. All production is conducted in clean, controlled greenhouses, reducing damage and quality variations common in conventional outdoor farming.
Additionally, Hippo Harvest’s greenhouse approach offers ecological benefits by significantly reducing water and fertilizer use, mitigating methane-producing agricultural waste, and promoting local food accessibility. The company’s commitment to sustainability is underscored by its participation in The Climate Pledge, a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon by 2040.
Residents of San Francisco can already find Hippo Harvest products at local Gus’s Community Markets and online at Amazon Fresh, with plans for further expansion in Northern California. The company’s innovative approach to greenhouse farming not only addresses climate change challenges but also contributes to a cleaner environment, sustainable agriculture, and enhanced food accessibility on a commercial scale.
