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Vertical farmer Dream Harvest<\/a>\u2014which raised $50 million in late 2021<\/a> to fund the expansion of its facility in Houston, Texas\u2014is auctioning off<\/a>\u00a0 a large tranche of equipment that it bought in 2022, but has not yet deployed.<\/p>\n According to Silicon Valley Disposition<\/a>, which is handling the auction<\/a> on January 14-16, the sale features equipment<\/a> \u201cpurchased new in 2022 for $8 million, never put into production\u201d including packaging equipment, harvesting equipment, LED lighting, water equipment cells, an irrigation system, containers and stands, trays, aluminum, and a communication system.<\/p>\n CEO Zain Shauk\u2014who founded Dream Harvest with Harmeet Singh in 2015\u2014 did not provide an update on the company\u2019s performance or explain why it is selling off kit that it bought two years ago to expand the Houston facility. He told AgFunderNews: <\/em>\u201cWe are selling some of our unused assets in Houston. We have what we need in our other facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n The news comes on the heels of another year of correction for the vertical farming industry that\u2019s been ongoing since 2022. Smallhold<\/a> and Bowery<\/a> were a couple of the most notable closures in 2024, while Plenty has appointed a new interim CEO and is in the midst of a recapitalization that would see its share value plummet<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the biggest challenges with vertical farming has been the lack of clarity in stating the problem being solved and for whom,\u201d Rishi Pethe of agrifood consulting firm Metal Dog Labs wrote this week<\/a>. Like others<\/a>, he emphasized the need to \u201cstrike a balance between leveraging technology and adhering to agricultural best practices to ensure successful operations.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, some companies have still attracted funding over the past year, most notably upmarket berry grower Oishii<\/a>, which closed a $150 million series B round.<\/p>\n According to preliminary data from AgFunder, parent company to AgFunderNews<\/em>, the top five rounds in vertical farming in 2024 were raised by Oishii ($150 million<\/a>), Vertical Harvest ($59.5 million project financing<\/a>), GrowUp ($49.3 million from Generate Capital<\/a>), IGS ($28.6 million<\/a>), and Hippo Harvest ($21 million led by Standard Investments<\/a>).<\/p>\n Further reading:<\/p>\n\n