A USD 10m investment target has been exceeded. Strong confidence raised USD 16m from leading Saudi, UAE and US investors. This oversubscribed, pre-series A investment in Red Sea Farms cements confidence from international, regional and local investors in the burgeoning Saudi and Middle East AgTech sector.

The increased investment accelerates Red Sea Farms’ ability to expand their Saudi and Middle East operations as well as exploring growth opportunities in the US where growing conditions are harsh.

International investors

An initial investment of USD 10m came from a group of Saudi and UAE investors including the Aramco venture Wa’ed, the Saudi government-owned Future Investment Initiative, Institute, KAUST and Global Ventures, a UAE venture capital group. Interest was subsequently received from AppHarvest and Bonaventure, investors from the United States of America who have provided USD 6m.

AppHarvest is an applied technology company developing and operating indoor farms in Appalachia. App Harvest uses recycled rainwater in their greenhouses, in contrast to Red Sea farms’ focus on solar and salt-water growing systems that can be quickly and easily scaled in marginal agriculture climates such as the Middle East.

Bonaventure invests in companies with a strong initial product-market fit as evidenced by customer adoption and revenue traction, clear trajectory for developing sustainable competitive advantages, and management teams passionate about solving problems for their customers and capable of scaling their businesses.

Ryan Lefers, Chief Executive Officer of Red Sea Farms, said “Red Sea Farms is thrilled to have substantially exceeded its target for the current funding round. We look forward to working closely with our investors and our Red Sea Farms team to accelerate plans to roll out our technology in Saudi, the Middle East, and North America.”