plenty opens world’s first vertical farm that uses AI to grow strawberries indoors in virginia

Vertical farm powered by AI to deliver strawberries in 2025

Plenty Unlimited opens the Plenty Richmond Farm, dubbed the world’s first vertical farm that uses AI to grow and cultivate strawberries at scale indoors. The estate – located in Richmond, Virginia in the US – can produce more than four million pounds of strawberries in a year, even though its space is less than 40,000 square feet.

Within the vertical farm, there are 30-foot-tall towers inside used to cultivate the fruit. So far, only Driscoll varieties of strawberries are to be grown using Plenty’s technology and Driscoll’s advanced genetics, and the first batch of strawberries from the vertical farm is set to be available in early 2025.

all images courtesy of Plenty

Plenty richmond farm’s AI controls the cultivating environment

The idea behind the Plenty Richmond Farm is to control the environment using technology. It doesn’t rely on traditional outdoor farming because, in that setting, the weather, soil, and other factors are less controllable. In Plenty’s vertical farm, the strawberries grow with the help of AI, running software that keeps the temperature suitable for the strawberries. It also controls how much light they receive using artificial lighting that mimics sunlight.

The team says this part is important because plants need the right type and amount of light to help the strawberries grow faster and healthier. The AI technology can also manage the moisture in the air of the vertical farm so that the strawberries don’t grow in an environment that’s too dry or too wet. The software can track and analyze more than 10 million data points every day from its 12 grow rooms to inform the cultivators if the plants need more light, less water, higher temperatures, or other adjustments. The AI system can also make these changes on its own.

the Plenty Richmond Farm is dubbed the world’s first vertical farm powered by AI that grows strawberries

Using 97 percent less land and up to 90 percent less water

Strawberries aren’t the first crops that the Plenty vertical farm has grown. Its flagship farm to grow lettuce is in Compton, California, where the property cultivates more than 250 acres worth of leafy greens within a single city block. Plenty has also designed a patent-pending modular growing system flexible enough to farm a variety of crops, with lettuce being an example and now strawberries. Thanks to the 30-foot-tall towers installed on the Virginia farm, it’s easier to deliver more nutrients, airflow, and intense lighting, helping the growth of the strawberries.

Arama Kukutai, Plenty CEO, says that the Plenty Richmond Farm is the culmination of 200 research trials over the past six years to perfect growing strawberries with consistent peak-season flavor indoors year-round. ‘Driscoll’s sets an incredibly high bar for the quality of its berries, and we’re excited to join forces to consistently deliver an ultra-premium Driscoll’s strawberry year-round,’ he adds. Plenty says that its vertical farm uses 97 percent less land and up to 90 percent less water than conventional farming. So far, the first batch of its vertical farm-grown strawberries, with the help of AI, is set to be available in early 2025.

view of the AI-using Plenty vertical farm from the outside