(Bloomberg) -- Plenty Unlimited Inc., a pioneer of vertical farming that’s drawn backing from billionaires including Jeff Bezos, is in talks for a n

Bezos-Backed Farm Startup in Talks for More Than 90% Value Cut

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2025-01-05 19:30:16

(Bloomberg) -- Plenty Unlimited Inc., a pioneer of vertical farming that’s drawn backing from billionaires including Jeff Bezos, is in talks for a new funding round that will virtually wipe out existing stockholders, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Plenty, which has brought in almost $1 billion from investors like Eric Schmidt and SoftBank Group Corp., is in talks to raise another $125 million as part of the recapitalization, according to people familiar with the matter. The new deal would value the company’s existing shares at less than $15 million, one person said. Previously, investors had valued Plenty at $1.9 billion, according to PitchBook.

In recent weeks, Plenty has installed an interim chief executive officer after the exit of Arama Kukutai, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The new acting CEO is Daniel Malech, previously the company’s senior vice president of strategy and general counsel.

At the same time, the company is undergoing a broader strategy shift. Instead of growing a variety of fruits and vegetables, Plenty will focus on strawberries, which yield higher profits.