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duction, rather than just buying the cheapest one from overseas.”
Unfolding crops
New methods of improving crop yield go even further upstream than just vertical farming. Unveiled in August 2020, Unfold is a vertical farming venture by Temasek and Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of German life sciences giant Bayer. “By utilising seed genetics (or germplasm) from vegetable crops, Unfold will focus on developing new seed varieties coupled with agronomic advice tailored for the unique indoor environment of vertical farms,” reads Bayer’s press release at the launch.
The company raised US$30 million ($41.19 million) in its initial funding round and entered into an agreement for certain rights to germplasm from Bayer’s vegetable portfolio. “Unfold will be the first company that will really be able to take advantage of the rich seed and germplasm resources that Bayer has,” said Dr John Purcell, president and CEO of Unfold.
Back in 2018, Temasek paid EUR3 billion ($4.4 billion) for an additional 3.6% stake in Bayer and increased its total to about 4%. The additional investment from Temasek was part of Bayer’s efforts to fund the US$62.5 billion takeover of seed
maker Monsanto, where Purcell was from.
With this substantial stake, Temasek has reportedly communicated its displeasure about Bayer’s current CEO Werner Baumann. According to a March 26 Bloomberg
report, Temasek has longstanding concerns about Bayer’s operating performance under Baumann and the company’s lack of succession planning, citing unnamed sources. However, Baumann is staying put, as evident by voting at the company’s AGM on April 30.
Anuj Maheshwari, managing director and head of agri-food at Temasek, says: “It has been about 18 months since the company has started. They have a very strong team, with CEO John Purcell and this team is continuing to grow and develop.”
Unfold is continuing its research and product the development for varieties of vegetables that can be grown in the indoor growing environment. “They have obvious access to a very, very strong germplasm, which many companies don’t have. They are generating some revenue and also have a strong pipeline of products,” adds Maheshwari.
Maheshwari says the company has been in talks for several partnerships with vertical farming companies. “I don’t think Unfold has announced those, so I cannot give you the details, but these partnerships are a key way to grow in that business.”
He adds: “You provide seeds to a vertical farm and the farm is essentially just a customer. But if you onboard them as a partner, you can do development of products, and you can also know what the challenges your customers face. We remain excited about the prospect of Unfold in developing new varieties of seeds that are tailored for the indoor growing environment.”