80 Acres Farms acquires three new vertical farms

A major acquisition for the company's geographical expansion

This acquisition gives the American company a foothold far from its native midwest. This news does not come alone, as 80 Acres Farms has also acquired the intellectual property belonging to Kalera, a previously publicly listed competitor in the sector. 80 Acres Farms now has access to Kalera's customer base, which includes major grocery chains such as Albertsons, as well as HEB (a Texas supermarket chain), and food distributors such as US Foods, and many others. This major leap forward enables the company to begin its transition from a local to a national company.  

Strong commitments

"Our retail partners have been clear: they want a reliable supply chain, they want fresh, healthy, chemical-free food, and they want it produced locally ," said Mike Zelkind, CEO and co-founder of 80 Acres Farms. The firm is committed to producing without wasting water, and to offering traceable, fresher and tastier food, free from pesticides. There are many advantages to these vertical farms, which are nevertheless little-known to the general public. No weather constraints, self-sufficient structures, hundreds of millions of liters of water saved, and facilities that can produce up to 300 times more food per square metre than a traditional farm.

Technology for vertical farming

Mike Zelkind doesn't hide his delight when he talks about 80 Acres Farms: "Just 10 years ago, this project was the stuff of science fiction. Tomorrow, vertical farms will be so ubiquitous that people will wonder how we ever managed without them." This dream of ubiquity is driven by new technologies and AI, notably by Infinite Acres (a wholly-owned subsidiary) and GroLoop software: thanks to state-of-the-art sensors and cameras, a continuous flow of data feeds optimized growing models to maximize the yields, flavor and nutritional value of 80 Acres Farms' produce.