Square Roots, a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) startup, recently introduced a groundbreaking program supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The program aims to demonstrate the feasibility of removing light from commercial indoor vertical farming by utilizing gene-edited (CRISPR) plants that grow heterotrophically. These plants can add biomass through carbon uptake from acetate in irrigation water, enabling growth “in the dark,” in an indoor vertical farm.

Square Roots, a CEA startup announces a new program to prove that light can removed from a commercial vertical farming system and is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

A company spokesperson recently confirmed with The Packer that the controlled environment agriculture company is pausing commercial production at several of its farms and moving to a “farming as a service” business model. What this major shift means for the company is still unclear

Square Roots told staff it was closing most of its locations and cutting jobs, two former staff said. One farm in Grand Rapids will remain open to service business partners, a source told Insider. Square Roots told local news it plans to reconfigure some locations and may eventually re-open them

Co-founded by Kimbal Musk, the brother of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Square Roots grabbed headlines for its model of refurbishing shipping containers into vertical farms that use artificial light and a controlled environment to grow greens like basil, cilantro, and parsley

The release stated, "In the past month, Planted Detroit, like much of the CEA industry, faced investment turbulence and funding constraints. Despite the company's efforts to drive sales, cut costs, and secure investments, these challenges could not be overcome."

Don't let its compact size fool you -- this farm is putting out a lot of produce. Walking through the Square Roots facility in Kenosha only takes a minute or two – it’s 20 shipping containers stacked on top of each other

Quality, efficiency, and sustainability are a few words that stand out regarding the process of Shepherdsville’s new indoor farm, Square Roots

A Shepherdsville company is vertically farming with the help of 20 repurposed shipping containers. It's called Square Roots, a tech-based farm company that grows herbs and micro greens in a fraction of the time as traditional farming

The facility, located in Shepherdsville, Ky., adds to Square Roots production facilities in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, according to a news release

Founded in 2016 by Kimbal Musk, Elon's brother, and Tobias Peggs, Square Roots mission is to bring sustainable, freshly-farmed products to urban areas. The indoor farms are set up inside shipping-containers and take just 3-4 months of construction before they can be up and running

With Agritecture Designer, our data-backed farm-planning platform, you can plan the farm of your dreams and get started on your controlled environment agriculture (CEA) journey

Opened in 2022, the Kenosha location sits within 20 shipping containers adjacent to partner Gordon Foods’ distribution center. It is near the highway and multiple other distribution centers close to the Illinois border, including Amazon and Meijer

The timing of Square Roots’ campaign was also impeccable. Launched in February, the campaign showcased the company’s ability to grow to produce year-round, regardless of the weather

The campaign will feature about 15 billboards in its target markets as well as video advertising on the Hulu streaming service and a social media campaign on its platforms

The idea of using cargo containers for farming has already been explored by inventive companies like Ikea and researcher groups like the MIT Media Lab

Square Roots to grow food on-site at UNFI facilities, eliminating lengthy supply chains and giving back days of freshness to UNFI customers year-round

Fresh, local greens are grown by tech-enabled farmers are now sold throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania, all year round

A new indoor farm in Springfield that will have the ability to grow 2.4 million packages of herbs and leafy greens every year completed its first harvest this month, with many more to follow

Alex Pate is the farm manager of Square Roots Brooklyn. Alex talks about Square Roots and their mission to grow food in the city with technology-based agriculture, using container units fitted out to maximize limited amounts of space