French startup Agricool has raised $4.3 million (€4 million) to grow strawberries and later other fruit and vegetables inside shipping containers. The money was raised from newly-launched VC firm Daphni as well as Parrot founder Henri Seydoux and Captain Train (acquired by Trainline) co-founder Jean-Daniel Guyot.
Agricool is starting with strawberries. Instead of relying on trucks filled with strawberries coming from Turkey, Germany, Spain or Italy, the startup plans to produce strawberries right where they were, in Paris.
The company is now renting a big warehouse to fill it with containers. With today’s funding round, Agricool wants to create 75 containers in 2017 and install them around Paris — the goal is to produce 91 tons of strawberries.
The startup also wants to test other crops soon.