South Korean AgriTech startup raises $21 million in fundraising

Korean AgriTech startup N.Thing has raised $21 million in series B fundraising that is up from $5 million in the previous series that is secured $26 million in total. This has been run as an additional round of series B funding, led by InterVest and Kiwoom Investment the follow-on investment from existing investors as well, and new participation from  Ascendo Ventures, SL Investment, IGIS Asset Management, and KT&G.

N.THING's CEO & founder Leo Kim(left) and CFO, Chris Lee(right). 

N.Thing aims to encourage everyone to adopt farming by developing sustainable smart farm products and services. Started in 2014, N.Thing offers 'CUBE', a modular container vertical farm, and its solution 'CUBE OS'. In May 2021, N.Thing signed a deal with Sarya Holdings in the United Arab Emirates to construct a $3 million vertical farm within this year.

The company will use its latest investment to execute its plans for global commercialization of 'CUBE' with cultivated crops and portfolio expansion. Near-term milestones include scaling up the supply chain, growing operations, and expanding its product lines and technology platform both domestically and internationally. The company is currently working with Emart, the largest retailer in Korea to distribute crops via newly built vertical farm units which will launch within this year in Icheon, Korea.

Gulf region
N.Thing will also collaborate to bolster Abu Dhabi's long-term focus on food resilience. As a strategic partner to Sarya Holdings, N.Thing will evaluate the establishment of vertical farm clusters in Abu Dhabi to supply its cultivated crops across the UAE and the broader GCC region.

Jinwoo Song, a managing director at InterVest, said, "N.THING bears two key factors of beating the market such as enabling sustainable supply and accessibility to buyers, therefore we expect they can play a key role in shaping this agenda across global markets by innovating the food value chain. We are delighted to partner with them."

Chris Lee, CFO of N.Thing, added, " This round was very meaningful for our further growth and global expansion joined by strategic investors including KT&G highly supporting us to jump up to the world-class agri-tech entrepreneur that we had oriented from the beginning."