RED Horticulture, a pioneer in plant photobiology, confirms its development with a €2.5 million fund-raising campaign. On the strength of its recent technological and commercial successes, the company aims to accelerate its development in France and abroad.
Optimise use of light in greenhouses
RED Horticulture announces a €2.5 million fund raising from the Demeter Ventures Agrinnovation Fund, its historical investors, and non-dilutive financing. Three years after its creation, this financing will secure an ambitious development plan to make RED the key player in photobiology in Europe.
RED, based in Lyon, France, designs intelligent LED lighting solutions for optimising plant growth and reducing energy consumption in production greenhouses and laboratories. By combining LED luminaires with sensors and artificial intelligence tools, RED automates lighting strategies by modulating the intensity, quality, and time of lighting.
At the origin of the project, Yassine El Qomri and Louis Golaz, two graduates of INSA Lyon, are studying the problem of lighting in horticultural greenhouses with one ambition: to reduce energy consumption while making light a genuine tool for crop management. Three years of R&D and agronomic trials will be necessary to come up with a unique patented solution that meets this dual objective.
Accelerating international growth
With this fund raising, RED has two priorities: to accelerate its expansion, notably by continuing its commercial development in France and abroad, and to increase its technological lead thanks to the enrichment of the functionalities of its lighting solutions.
Since its commercial launch in 2019, RED has some fifty customers in horticulture, laboratories, and technical centres - including some big names in the market gardening and seed industry - and is experiencing rapid growth in sales.
For two years now, RED has been organising the Rencontres Lumière & Végétal (Light & Plant Meetings) alongside Vegepolys Valley and the Cluster Lumière (Light Cluster) and has established itself as a reference in France in the photobiology sector with its innovative solutions.
About fundraising, "we welcome this collaboration with Demeter, a leader in ecological transition and agro-innovation," says Yassine EL Qomri, co-founder and President of RED Horticulture. "Demeter, through its Agrinnovation fund, brings us financial resources but more importantly strategic experience in the AgTech sector.This fund raising will notably allow us to accelerate the commercial development of our offer and to invest in R&D to deepen our distinctive agronomic expertise".
"We are happy to accompany RED in this new stage of their development because we are convinced of the potential of photobiology. The agronomic results show that optimising light can improve crop production while reducing its energy impact" says Cyrille Cabaret, Partner at Demeter Ventures.
For more information:
Demeter
www.demeter-im.com
RED solutions
www.horticulture.red