Square Roots Urban Growers is a company.
Square Roots Urban Growers has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round.
Key people at Square Roots Urban Growers.
Square Roots Urban Growers has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Key people at Square Roots Urban Growers.
Square Roots Urban Growers has raised $5.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Square Roots Urban Growers's investors include Abstract Ventures, AperiamVentures, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Electric Capital, Math Capital, Polychain Capital, Gil Penchina, UpHonest Capital, Y Combinator, Ding Zhou, Sam Altman.
Square Roots Urban Growers is an AgTech company pioneering urban indoor farming through a scalable, modular hydroponic platform that delivers fresh, pesticide-free, non-GMO produce to cities year-round.[1][2][5] It serves grocery stores, restaurants, food suppliers, and researchers by solving key challenges in the global food system—like inefficiency, waste, seasonality, and lack of local access—while using far less land and water than traditional farming and training next-generation farmers.[2][3][4][5] With operations expanding from Brooklyn to multiple U.S. states, the company has grown to over 150 employees and shifted toward a platform model for commercial production, R&D, and food security infrastructure.[1][5][6][7]
Founded in 2016 by serial entrepreneurs Tobias Peggs (CEO) and Kimbal Musk (WEF Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2017), Square Roots emerged from a vision to revolutionize urban agriculture amid a $12 trillion global food system's inefficiencies.[1][3][4] Peggs and Musk, who also runs restaurant chains, launched their first modular farm in a Brooklyn parking lot using repurposed shipping containers for hydroponic greens production, proving viability in a dense city where fresh produce is scarce even in peak seasons.[3][5][7] Early traction came from a 13-month accelerator program for resident entrepreneurs, who grew leafy greens in "Leafy Green Machines," delivered to 80 NYC offices and restaurants, and earned $30,000–$40,000 annually via revenue shares—building trust and efficiency with 3D vertical growth and minimal water use.[3] Pivotal expansions included a 2017 farmer training program, 2019 Michigan farm with Gordon Food Service, 2021 capacity doubling, and 2022 openings in Wisconsin and Ohio.[5]
Square Roots stands out in indoor farming through technology-driven modularity, sustainability, and ecosystem support:
Square Roots rides the urban agriculture and climate-resilient food trend, addressing demographics, waste, and supply chain vulnerabilities in a world facing climate change and urbanization.[4][6] Timing aligns with rising demand for local, sustainable produce in cities like NYC, where seasonal shortages persist, amplified by post-pandemic food security needs and AgTech investments.[3][5] Market forces favoring it include hydroponics' efficiency (less land/water), year-round reliability amid weather disruptions, and partnerships like Gordon Food Service for Midwest distribution—positioning it as infrastructure for R&D and adaptation.[5][6] It influences the ecosystem by accelerating ag innovation, training diverse farmers, and enabling distributed networks that reduce global shipping emissions, proving indoor farming's commercial scalability.[2][4][6]
Square Roots is evolving from urban grower to leading indoor farming platform, with national scaling underway and a focus on licensing for global R&D and food security.[5][6] Next steps likely include more facilities, AI-enhanced software for crop optimization, and deeper climate-adaptation partnerships as trends like extreme weather and urban population growth intensify.[6] Its influence could expand by standardizing modular ag tech, empowering more local leaders, and capturing share in a resilient food system—ultimately proving urban farms can feed cities sustainably at scale, as their Brooklyn origins envisioned.[1][4][5]
Square Roots Urban Growers has raised $5.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Seed in August 2017.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2017 | $5.0M Seed | Abstract Ventures, AperiamVentures, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Electric Capital, Math Capital, Polychain Capital, Gil Penchina, UpHonest Capital, Y Combinator, Ding Zhou, Sam Altman |
