News of Plenty closing down its South San Francisco facility first surfaced last month but flew largely under the radar.
Without giving concrete numbers, Plenty’s spokesperson also suggested some job cuts related to the SF facility are inevitable.
A spokesperson for the vertical farming company said Plenty has “outgrown” the R&D facility’s capabilities. It will now focus on completing “the world’s highest-output indoor vertical farm” in Compton, California. All commercial production will shift to that area.
Plenty first announced the Compton farm in 2019. As of this writing, that facility is “about to begin production.”
Founded in 2014, Plenty has so far raised a total of $914 million in outside funding to develop its technology and business. Its last round was a $400 million Series E raise at the beginning of 2022 from investors like Walmart and One Medical Group.