May 2026 indoor ag update: Oishii's $150M headlines a quiet month as AeroFarms steps back from the brink. June 10, 2026 Oishii $150M Series C leads May indoor ag activity as AeroFarms avoids shutdown and 80 Acres Farms cuts capacity after Soli merger May was a month of contrasts. A single, very large strawberry raise accounted for almost all of the month's funding dollars, while the rest of the sector saw a scattering of smaller agtech rounds in Europe. On the operations side, AeroFarms pulled back from a five-month closure process, while 80 Acres Farms began trimming the operation it absorbed last summer. Eight of the listed companies Contain Inc track reported quarterly results, with greenhouse and equipment names diverging sharply. Oishii takes the month with a $150M Series C. One deal represented most of May's private funding. New Jersey vertical strawberry grower Oishii announced the first close of a $150 million Series C on May 13, led by Tokyo's SPARX Asset Management with participation from Nomura Real Estate, MISUMI Group and Mizuho Bank. The round takes Oishii's lifetime funding to $370 million since its 2016 founding. Proceeds are earmarked for production capacity, robotics integration, infrastructure and new product formats across its U.S. and Japan operations, including an Open Innovation Center in Tokyo. The company told AgFunderNews it has reached positive unit economics. The balance of the month's activity was European and early-stage. Belgian biocontrol developer Biotalys (Euronext Brussels: BTLS) secured a €12.05 million ($13.2 million) private placement from its existing shareholders to push its EVOCA NG and BioFun-6 programs toward EU and California approval. London crop-immunity biotech Resurrect Bio closed an oversubscribed $10.3 million Series A led by Corteva's Catalyst arm. Smaller rounds went to German CEA-analytics firm vGreens (€2 million / $2.2 million), UK biostimulant developer SugaROx (£2.5 million / $3.2 million, from fertilizer major The Mosaic Company) and Danish precision-spraying firm Perplant (€1 million / $1.1 million). AeroFarms steps back, 80 Acres trims. Virginia microgreens grower AeroFarms, which had spent five months issuing serial WARN extensions after its largest investor withdrew last December, rescinded its WARN notice. The move keeps its 140,000-square-foot Ringgold facility open and saves the 120-plus jobs that had been at risk. The company said it would continue building "a stronger, more stable business," though it has not disclosed the buyer or terms behind the rescue. Consolidation, meanwhile, produced its first visible cost. Ohio-based 80 Acres Farms, which merged with Soli Organic last August, filed a WARN notice on May 27 to close the former Soli packing plant in Harrisonburg, Virginia by July 21, eliminating roughly 80 jobs as it shifts work to other sites in its network. The Harrisonburg site had operated as Shenandoah Growers before the 2021 Soli rebrand. In Washington, a group of senators introduced the Supporting Urban and Innovative Farming Act (S.4470), which would explicitly fold controlled environment agriculture into the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, authorize $15 million in mandatory plus $50 million a year in discretionary funding through 2030, and fund a national CEA data initiative. Passage in the current Senate is uncertain. Listed sector: greenhouses up, equipment down. Eight of the companies Contain Inc track reported quarterly results in May, and the split between produce growers and equipment suppliers was stark. Village Farms (NASDAQ: VFF), the greenhouse grower now focused on cannabis, posted record international export sales. Local Bounti (NYSE: LOCL) grew its top line for a third straight quarter. On the equipment side, hydroponics distributor Hydrofarm (NASDAQ: HYFM) reported a near-30% sales decline and continued liquidity stress, having entered a forbearance agreement on its term loan in April. Listed sector turns to AI. Two of the smaller names made strategic moves worth noting. iPower (NASDAQ: IPW), the grow-equipment e-commerce operator, launched an "AI infrastructure" strategy on May 19, committing up to $3 million to digital-asset purchases alongside its core business. Nature's Miracle (NMHI), the CEA solutions provider, signed both an MOU with DROMNI Intelligence on AI-enabled agriculture robotics and an LOI to acquire 55% of fabrication firm CM Fabrication and CEA Studios, and swung to a small Q1 profit. Separately, urban-gro (NASDAQ: UGRO) confirmed in a shareholder letter that it has completed its move out of CEA design services and into sports and media, and plans a name and ticker change. The information provided on this blog is for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis of the securities, markets, or developments referred to. While Contain Inc strive to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information, the content of this blog does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, trading advice, or any other advice. You should not treat any of the blog's content as such. Contain Inc do not recommend that any securities listed or discussed be bought, sold, or held by you. Nothing on this blog should be taken as an offer to buy, sell, or hold securities. Please conduct your own due diligence and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Forward-looking statements made in this blog are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Contain Inc expressly disclaim any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

On the heels of fresh funding, Oishii has 'crossed the chasm' of unit economics in vertical farming. Jennifer Marston | Published on: May 15, 2026 Vertical farming company Oishii this week announced the first close of a $150 million Series C round, which founder and CEO Hiroki Koga says was made possible by the firm's continued focus on proving unit economics instead of chasing revenues. "Ultimately, many companies in the sector [vertical farming] struggled to raise capital because they couldn't convincingly prove their unit economics to investors," he explained to AgFunderNews. "We crossed that chasm, which is why we were able to successfully raise our Series C." The vertical farming sector has taken a well-documented beating over the last few years as erstwhile unicorns such as Plenty, Bowery, and Aerofarms failed to live up to over-hyped expectations and sky-high valuations. However, the majority of those companies were growing salad greens, something Oishii founder and CEO Hiroki Koga says his company has purposely avoided over the years. Oishii, once known for growing strawberries that cost $5 a pop, has over the years expanded from that ultra-premium category to appeal to a wider base of purchasers. It's also unique in that it combines deeptech (robotics, automation) with Japanese growing techniques that are thousands of years old. Last year saw the company, which operates its vertical farm in New Jersey, expand to 18 different states, launch its berries in Canada, and announce an R&D innovation center in Japan. This was in addition to its continued integration of robotics and automation into the growing process, helped through acquisitions like that of Tortuga AgTech and a partnership with MISUMI group. "We made a very strategic decision to focus on premium strawberries. By operating in a highly differentiated category without significant competitive pressure, we were able to stay disciplined and focused on proving out the operation and unit economics before chasing revenue," he explains to AgFunderNews. "Many companies in the category started with leafy greens and expanded too quickly without first demonstrating a sustainable business model." Koga has in the past said that he witnessed the rise and fall of the leafy green "plant factory" craze in Japan a decade before it reached the States, and says the fallout of the last few years was "completely anticipated." As to what has let Oishii withstand the market correction, he highlights "building a strong foundation while continuously evolving both its product and its brand to create a durable competitive moat. "We've vertically integrated much of our core technology and operations in-house, which allows our teams - from executives to farm operators - to rapidly iterate across technology, production, and execution. Combined with strong support from Japan alongside innovation and business capabilities in the US, we've created a unique foundation for long-term growth." Patient capital 'remains critical' for vertical farming. Of course the vertical farming correction has significantly impacted VC funding to the space and led many to question if it's even an appropriate vehicle here. Koga says it depends on the type of VC. "Investors like SPARX and Resilience Reserve, who understand deep tech and the long-term value of sustainable technology, can be extremely helpful. But those kinds of investors are still relatively rare. A lot of capital today is oriented toward short-term opportunities, especially as AI and crypto attract so much attention." Indoor agriculture takes a different mindset, he adds, and capital must recognize the long-term value that is possible through "differentiated technology, proprietary assets, and operational excellence." The new capital bumps Oishii's total funding to $370 million. In the near term, the company will increase production capacity and farm infrastructure and continue to invest in R&D in the US and Japan.

Oishii raises $150M to scale strawberry farms. Vertical farming food tech company Oishii announced today the first closing of its $150 million Series C round, led by SPARX Asset Management Co. The round also saw participation from Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., MISUMI Group Inc., Mizuho Bank Ltd., and others. The financing builds on a $150 million Series B, which closed in 2024, and brings Oishii's total funding raised to-date to $370 million, the company said. The new funding will go towards production capacity, robotics integration, farm infrastructure and R&D on new product formats. Become an Insider to unlock exclusive CPG insights, data, education, and industry exposure for food & beverage leaders.