Saudi agri-tech startup Red Sea Farms raises $18.5m

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s agriculture technology startup Red Sea Farms said on Monday it had raised an additional $18.5 million to help expand its fresh produce line and also to sell its technology to users in harsh, water scarce environments.

The funding was raised from Saudi Aramco’s Wa’ed, The Savola Group, KAUST Innovation Fund and OlsonUbben, the company said in an emailed statement.

Red Sea Farms, established in 2018, grows fresh produce such as cucumbers in environmentally-controlled, enclosed farms that primarily use saltwater to cool greenhouses and irrigate crops.

Snack tomatoes and snack peppers are also grown in Saudi Arabia, where the company expects to have 30 hectares of greenhouse space operational by the end of the year.

Red Sea Farms said it planned to start selling a bolt-on climate chamber version of its technology that can be used with existing and new greenhouse structures by the fourth quarter.

The company has raised $36.5 million to date.