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Sprout AI Inc. Vertical Farming Aims To Provide Sustainable Solutions To Global Food Production
Sprout AI is committed to both environmental and social sustainability
Begins Growth Initiatives After Completion of Go Public Transaction and Financing
July 29, 2021
Source: Sprout AI Inc
Calgary, Alberta, July 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via InvestorWire – Sprout AI Inc. ("Sprout AI" or the "Company") (CSE: SPRT) is a technologically focused, sustainable vertical farming company that has developed scalable controlled aeroponic cultivation habitats. Sprout AI’s technology will provide solutions to the ever-increasing complexities surrounding the current and future supply of sustainable global food production and supply chain.
Sprout AI is committed to both environmental and social sustainability. With a lowered carbon footprint, Sprout AI provides solutions to many of the negative environmental impacts generated by conventional farming methods, including over-fertilization, long transport distances, and biodiversity disturbances. Social sustainability is enhanced through increased food security from a simplified supply chain, especially during Covid-19, higher density production in a world with declining arable land per capita, and a food supply less susceptible to drought, floods, wildfires, disease, and overall climate change.
The Company’s vision is to be a leader in sustainable vertical cultivation technology by ensuring each harvest is of high quality, high yield, and with minimal product variability. The adaptive AI monitored aeroponic system generates less waste and requires a fraction of the water needed for outdoor, aquaponic, or hydroponic farming. As growth statistics from across the globe are collected, the learning technology will continue to perfect the growing formula, reducing the growth cycle and increasing future output. Additionally, the self-contained habitats reduce cross-contamination and disease which reduces the risk of large crop failures.
The Sprout AI habitats are highly relevant in urban and remote areas alike, and can be assembled in any structure throughout the world that meets, or can meet, food-grade requirements, mitigating the need for a purpose-built structure and allowing it to take advantage of virtually any vacant indoor space.
The Value of Sprout AI
Local Availability. Achieve consistent, year-round local supply of indigenous and non-indigenous produce that is agnostic to seasons, climates, weather and geographies.
Environmentally Friendly. Up to 95% water savings(1), significant reduction in fossil fuel required to plant, sow, fertilize and transport crops, and reduces land use and biodiversity disturbances.
Risk Mitigation. Mitigation against natural disasters such as hail and wildfires that can wipe out entire crops, droughts and infestations that can adversely impact yields, and supply chain impacts such as Covid-19.
Consistent Quality. Controlled, repeatable growing conditions allow for consistent quality produce that can be rapidly delivered to local markets and reduces the number of perishables from long range shipping.
Meeting Organic Preferences. Consumer preferences are evolving to more natural, organic products(2). The controlled environment of vertical farming reduces the need for chemicals and pesticides.
Enhanced Food Safety. Tracking and recall of local produce serving a local market is more manageable than produce grown in international jurisdictions and shipped to a broad network of international markets.
Feeding a Growing Population. Up to 100x more productive than traditional methods(3), providing a solution to feed a growing global population amid a decrease in arable land per capita(4).
The Sprout AI Business Model and Growth Initiatives
Sprout AI is focused on a two-pronged approach to continue to commercialize its technology. Both paths are intended to provide ongoing, recurring revenue; (i) turnkey unit sales to third parties with ongoing support, and (ii) the construction of proprietary vertical farms owned 100% by Sprout AI or in a joint venture or partner format. These proprietary farms will utilize Sprout AI technology and be branded under Beyond FarmsTM, a trademark owned by Sprout AI.
Since completing the go public transaction and financing on July 5th, 2021, Sprout AI has aggressively expanded its resource base, and has begun to fulfill its first third party sales of Sprout AI units. Sprout AI has also begun discussions with potential partners for the construction of a sustainably operated Beyond FarmsTM vertical farming facility in Canada, and potentially other jurisdictions around the world.
More information about the business of the Company can be found in the final long-form prospectus of Sprout AI dated May 31, 2021, and the listing statement dated June 30, 2021, both available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
About Sprout AI
Sprout AI is a vertical farming technology company in the business of planning, designing, manufacturing and/or assembling sustainable and scalable AI-controlled vertical cultivation equipment for indoor vertical farming. The adaptive technology produces an environment with improved growing parameters and early detection of adverse conditions resulting in consistent and repeatable crops, with shorter cultivation cycles independent of geographic climates. The self-contained multi-level rolling rack technology increases the cubic cultivation area while mitigating the risk of outside and cross-contaminants.
For more information about Sprout AI, please visit http://sproutai.solutions
Chief Executive Officer
Chris Bolton
Sprout AI Inc.
Phone: +011 (507) 6384-8734
E-mail: mainweb@sproutai.solutions
Investor Relations Contact
Colleen McKay
Tel: (289) 231-9026
E-mail: cmckay@sproutai.solutions
Website: http://sproutai.solutions
Address: International Business Park, Unit 5B, Building 3860
Panama Pacifico, Republic of Panama
THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE, NOR HAS OR DOES THE CSE'S REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, with respect to the Company. The forward-looking information included in this news release is not based on historical facts, but rather on the expectations of the Company's management regarding the future growth of the Company, its results of operations, performance, business prospects, and opportunities. This news release uses words such as "will", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions to identify forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information reflects the current beliefs of the Company's management, based on information currently available to them.
This forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements relating to: the intentions, plans, and future actions of the Company; statements relating to the business and future activities of the Company and anticipated developments in operations of the Company. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, intentions, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of the experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, and expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate and are subject to risks and uncertainties.
Although the Company believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect, and there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, prospective investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Whether actual results, performance, or achievements will conform to the expectations and predictions of the Company is subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors, including: global or national health concerns, including the outbreak of pandemic or contagious diseases, such as COVID-19 and including the evolution of new variants of COVID-19, the duration and effect thereof and delays relating to vaccine development, procurement and distribution; risks relating to the effective management of the Company's growth; liabilities and risks, including environmental liabilities and risks associated with the Company's operations; the Company's ability to attract and retain customers; the competitive nature of the industries in which the Company operates; and the other risk factors described in the Company's final long form prospectus dated May 31, 2021.
If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results might vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Information contained in forward-looking statements in this news release is provided as of the date of this news release, and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events or results, except to the extent required by applicable Canadian securities laws. Accordingly, potential investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, or the information contained in those statements.
All of the forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements.
Columbia University Earth Institute. “How Sustainable Is Vertical Farming? Students Try to Answer the Question”
Fortune Business Insights. “Organic Foods Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Raw Material/Commodity (Fruits and Vegetables, Cereals and Grains, Others), By End-use (Bakery & Confectionery, Ready-to-eat food products, Breakfast Cereals, Processing Industry, Others), By Distribution Channel (Direct Market, Processing Industry) and Regional Forecast 2019-2026”
Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production. Toyoki Kozai, Genhua Niu and Michiko Takagaki.
The World Bank
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The Global Food Security & Sustainability Virtual Summit 2021 "Towards A Future Safe Global Food System"
The food crisis faced during the pandemic is a wake-up call for both developed and developing countries of the looming crisis facing the world when the next major crisis hits us, be it climate change, pandemics, etc
Overview
The Global food system is at a critical stage and made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. As many as 265 million people are threatened by famine, up 50% on last year; 700 million suffer from chronic hunger; and 2 billion more from malnutrition, with obesity and associated diet-related diseases increasing in all world regions. During the height of the pandemic with lockdowns, we have witnessed the collapse of the global food system with reports of food producers resorting to dumping their produce.
The food crisis faced during the pandemic is a wake-up call for both developed and developing countries of the looming crisis facing the world when the next major crisis hits us, be it climate change, pandemics, etc.
Website link: https://pinnaclegroup.global/gfsss/
Website Registration Link https://pinnaclegroup.global/gfsss/delegate-attendance-opportunities/
Linkedin event: https://www.linkedin.com/events/theglobalfoodsecurity-sustainab6786907097511669760/
Although the world has progressed significantly in terms of technology advancements in food production, food is not distributed in an equitable manner to regions, countries, households, and individuals. Government policies, availability of investments and technological know-how, and improved access to food supplies are key issues that meet the urgent food needs of the world’s growing population. New and innovative farming technologies such as high-tech agriculture and aquaculture methods that produce more yields inland and urban conditions offer hope for the future.
The Global Food Security & Sustainability Virtual Summit 2021 held on the 17th of September 2021, would be one of the most important events ever held to address the critical issues of food security from the local level to the global level, and from an interdisciplinary and systemic food systems perspective. The summit will invite multi-stakeholders from governmental organizations, private sector businesses, and NGOs to address the current disruptions and possible solutions on the world food supply chain. Discussions will also include issues surrounding sustainability issues and how societies and businesses can design more sustainable solutions in their entire food chain to minimize impact to the environment and reduce food waste
See You At This Landmark Event
Developing And Improving Productivity In Vertical Farms
Growing food in our increasingly variable climate is a challenge. Growing crops in a controlled environment provides an alternative approach to conventional farming which is free from the pressures created by extremes and variations in our weather, isolated from pests and allows crop growth at a wider range of latitudes
27-01-2021 | Agritech Tomorrow
Growing food in our increasingly variable climate is a challenge. Growing crops in a controlled environment provides an alternative approach to conventional farming which is free from the pressures created by extremes and variations in our weather, isolated from pests and allows crop growth at a wider range of latitudes.
Vertical farming is a relatively recent development with the first commercial vertical farm being reported as developed in 2012 in Singapore. Grand View Research estimated that the value of the vertical farming market would reach almost US$10 billion by 2025.
Developing indoor vertical farms requires a good understanding of all the requirements each crop plant will need for optimal growth and development. As a relatively new technology, research can have a big impact on how successful these enterprises will be in the longer term with expertise in plant physiology supporting improvements to these systems.
Dr. Antony Dodd’s research into the plant circadian clock had found that optimizing growing conditions to match the clock resulted in plants that contained more chlorophyll, allowing them to convert more of the available light into biomass and grow faster. Experimentally, productivity could be doubled by matching the circadian rhythm to the photoperiod in the growing environment. The capacity to control conditions precisely within a vertical farm means that the environment can be fine-tuned to the requirements of the crop to maximize yield.
In 2019 Dr. Antony Dodd was awarded a Royal Society Short Industry Fellowship to support the development of a collaboration with LettUs Grow. The collaborative team combines expertise in biological science with engineering, with Dr. Dodd’s research group providing expertise on optimal circadian rhythms, light quality, and plant physiology to inform developments in light provision for crop plants in vertical farming systems.
The team, from LettUs Grow, University of Bristol, and the John Innes Centre, have worked together on several projects since the fellowship was first awarded. This has not only enabled them to develop strategies to better analyze the performance of plants within vertical farms, but also to identify the areas of research which would accelerate the development of aeroponics for precision agriculture. And so together they have developed a Roadmap for aeroponics development.
The impacts so far have been:
Awarded a Royal Society Industry Fellowship supported the development of a team to develop improvements to aeroponics technology through the incorporation of circadian biology and plant physiology
· Development of a roadmap to inform on what future research is required to accelerate sustainable growth in vertical farming using aeroponics, reducing operational costs whilst maximizing productivity
· BBSRC funding has supported two studentship schemes to help LettUs Grow improve their processes to optimize lighting regimes for crop growth
Jack Farmer, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of LettUs Grow said: “Vertical farming is an emerging industry with a lot to offer that, alongside both greenhouse and organic agricultural practices, offers a potential pathway towards continuing to meet the worlds demand for nutritious produce without degrading large tracts of agricultural land. In many ways, each of these attempt to move forward from the chemically-driven intensive agricultural practices of the recent decades towards a system that factors-in environmental externalities.
However, if we want to manifest the environmental benefits vertical farming has to offer, we need to maximize productivity and efficiency for growers. We know it is important as a technology provider to collaborate with the best plant scientists to get the most out of our systems – elegant engineering will only take you so far. Internal collaboration between growers, engineers, and scientists is foundational to what we do here, and it’s been a real pleasure to expand that collaboration to include the talented staff at the John Innes Centre.”
LettUs Grow are now developing systems to allow growth of crops which are more technically challenging such as strawberries and tree whips through their award-winning aeroponic system, which is already being used to produce leafy green crops such as salads and herbs.
There are numerous benefits to be gained from growing crops in vertical farms. We are better able to keep out pests and disease reducing the requirement for pesticides, we can maintain an optimum environment for efficient plant growth which speeds up time to harvest and enables more accurate scheduling of crops thereby reducing food waste. Vertical farms can be located close to urban conurbations reducing food miles and year-round production means that we can become less reliant on imports, guaranteeing local food supply chains which in turn can stabilize prices as well as product consistency.
The next steps for further impact from this research will involve tackling the knowledge gaps identified in the roadmap and implementing changes to identify key growing formulae for specific crops which will allow vertical farming businesses to become more productive. This in turn will enable the potential benefits of vertical farming to be fully realized.
Source and Photo Courtesy of Agritech Tomorrow
Seeds&Chips
“We believe that technological innovation can create a better, safer, and more resilient food system to fight hunger for everyone”
ITALY
Marco Gualtieri is an Italian businessman who has used his entrepreneurial skills to put together a coalition of private-sector partners and others focused on innovation in the global food chain.
Gualtieri’s innovative company, Seeds&Chips, concerns itself with a wide variety of issues surrounding the challenges of sustainable food system. Seeds&Chips in fact works with people who are dedicated to transforming the food chain towards a more meaningful future in the belief that the key to sustainability lies in connecting the dots, creating partnerships and fostering collaborations that bring new ideas to life.
“But we can’t do it alone. Collaboration is at the heart of our mission,” Gualtieri says.
Through their Global Food Innovation Summit and other activities, participants look at new ways to improve their roles in food production, processing, distribution, communication and consumption.
In fact, Seeds&Chips has built one of the largest food and ag tech ecosystems in the world, and through this network they engage innovators, investors, companies, institutions and policy makers from every point of the global food chain, and provide a platform for them to connect and work together for a more sustainable future.
They are applying their expertise in agriculture, food distribution, technology, economics, socio-economic development, and other areas to address issues as varied as the promotion of local food crops for better nutrition, improving financing, training and markets for smallholder farmers, reducing the environmental footprint of irrigation, food transportation and packaging, and reducing food loss and waste along the entire supply chain.
