Company formed to sell seeds to vertical farms

Bayer, Temasek Holdings of Singapore will have equal stake in Unfold.

Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and Bayer have formed a new company that will develop seeds for vertical farms.

Unfold has raised $30 million in an initial funding round and entered into an agreement for certain rights to germplasm — the genetic material from which plants grow — from Bayer’s vegetable portfolio, the two firms said in a statement Wednesday.

While indoor farms that stack crops in vertical hydroponic rows are nothing new, Bayer is betting its expertise in seeds will give it a valuable edge. Much of that knowledge comes from Bayer’s 2018 acquisition of Monsanto Co., which was partly funded by Singapore’s state-owned investor.

Unfold will be equally owned by both parties and headquartered in Davis, California, with additional operations in Singapore.

Singapore has a national goal of sourcing 30% of its food needs locally by 2030 – a tall order considering its land constraints and rising sea levels.

“One thing all of us have seen in the vegetable business is in some cases the fragility,” said Unfold CEO John Purcell, who previously headed vegetables research and development at Bayer. “It’s a tragic situation but there’s no question it’s really raised people’s awareness about where food comes from and how we sustain the food supply chain.”

While some have put the market for vertical farming at $50 billion globally, Purcell said seed development is a smaller part of that. Unfold also plans to develop and sell the optimal techniques for vertical farming with its products.

The company will focus on lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, with seeds for some crops expected to be ready for sale within months.

TOMOHIRU OHSUMI / BLOOMBERG While indoor farms that stack crops in vertical hydroponic rows are nothing new, Bayer is betting its expertise in seeds will give it a valuable edge.