Indoor gardening startup Gardyn just raised a $35M Series B

Just in time for spring, Bethesda, Maryland-based indoor gardening tech company Gardyn has nabbed another $35 million. And no, it didn’t harvest a money tree. We confirmed.

Gardyn, which operates remotely, is an indoor, vertical garden system that leverages AI to automate plant care. The Series B round was led by existing investor JAB Ventures, who also led the $15 million Series A the company raised in 2021. The fresh (sorry) funds put the company’s total at $55 million since its founding in 2018.

CEO and founder FX Rouxel told Technical.ly that Gardyn plans to use the money to further develop its technology and grow production capabilities.

“It’s really a very emerging market, there are a lot of different players but not that many new technologies,” Rouxel said of the company’s focus. “That’s the really cool thing with Gardyn that I’m excited about. I think we are really shaping this market in terms of the technology and what it can be and where it should be.”

Rouxel said the company has a lot to develop within its plant portfolio, including some new models it plans to release in the near future, and will further develop its system’s accompanying app. Alongside this work, Rouxel said, Gardyn will be looking to extend to such verticals as restaurants, offices and schools. It’s also planning to add a few new plants to the system.

JAB Ventures’ managing partner and vice chair Joachim Creus celebrated Gardyn’s hopeful future in a statement.

“JAB Ventures is very proud to double down on our investment in Gardyn, given the amazing track records they have demonstrated over the past few years and the incredible potential they have moving forward given their unique positioning and technology,” Creus said.

According to Rouxel, the company has almost quadrupled in size over the past year, reaching almost 100 employees. With the new funds, he plans to keep growing as the market expands.

“We’re leveraging AI to really understand what’s growing, how fast is that [growth] and [ask] is there anything that can optimize the growth of the plants?” Rouxel said. “So, in my mind, that’s really a game-changer.”