Pure Harvest Smart Farms, a UAE-based agriculture tech firm, plans to raise at least $100 million as it expands into Singapore, Morocco, and Kuwait, and spins off its Saudi operation into an independent entity, the company's CEO told Semafor.
While declining to disclose the valuation of the current round, Pure Harvest's founder and Chief Executive Officer Sky Kurtz said the company has hired Rothschild & Co. to advise on the raise. Pure Harvest has raised $287 million since 2017, and its existing farms "are profitable and growing," according to Kurtz.
Gulf countries rely on imported food, and regional governments are becoming more stringent about regulating water use in traditional farming, banning some crops altogether. Supermarkets carry a wide range of fruits and vegetables — from affordable options grown in Jordan and Iran, to premium produce from Dutch greenhouses. Agriculture tech firms like Pure Harvest or the vertical farm business Bustanica that use less water are growing crops in the Gulf and pricing their products between these two extremes.
Read more at Semafor.