Is vertical farming dead? Another startup stumbles as scaling proves ‘really tough’
20 jan. 2026
13:44
Sweden’s Ljusgårda is the latest vertical farming startup to stumble after rapid growth, high expectations and $50m in VC backing. We look at its struggles and what the future of vertical farming might hold.
"It was never a VC investable space in my view," Felix Leonhardt, managing partner at foodtech venture capital firm Oyster Bay, tells Impact Loop.
"It was never a VC investable space in my view," Felix Leonhardt, managing partner at foodtech venture capital firm Oyster Bay, tells Impact Loop.
Vertical farming promised to revolutionise the way we grow food – and investors bought the pitch. But the fallout over the last couple of years has been brutal.
Dozens of vertical farming startups have gone bankrupt or been forced to close after burning through tonnes of VC money – only to realise that building high-tech factories with robots and AI to grow lettuce or herbs creates serious scaling challenges.