RedSea enables commercial farming in arid climates

🍅 Say hello to RedSea, the Saudi-based agtech start-up developing sustainable agriculture systems to enable commercial farming in arid climates!

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• Co-founded in 2018 by Ryan Lefers, Mark Tester and Derya Baran, the company is tackling food insecurity and reducing carbon and freshwater use in the MENA region's food sector.

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💰 Investor low-down: The start-up has garnered $36.5 million in funding from influential backers like  KAUST, Savola, Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures, OlsonUbben, Future Investment Initiative (FII), Global Ventures, AppHarvest and Bonaventure.

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💧 Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to… 

Extreme heat, water scarcity, salt-laden soils, drought, and a booming population…

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85% of food is already imported.

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MENA’s food producers are really up against it, and need all the help they can get.

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🌰 In a nutshell

Enter RedSea. They design, build and operate controlled-environment solutions for sustainable fruit and vegetable production.

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Their saltwater greenhouse system slashes freshwater usage by 90%, supporting the hydroponic (i.e. soilless, water-efficient) cultivation of organic, pesticide-free produce.

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In just three years, the company has expanded to over 58 hectares of tech deployment, and their snack peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and strawberries are available in over 300+ KSA supermarkets.

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• The startup is active in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with ongoing projects in Kuwait and Singapore.

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⚙️ I wasn’t really familiar with your game

Beyond crop cultivation, RedSea markets and sells cutting-edge agtech, like:

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• iyris SecondSky roof - enhancing sunlight use
• Kairos Thermocline system - enabling low-quality water irrigation
• Coretex platform - boosting crop yield monitoring

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These technologies are changing the game in 12 countries across 5 continents, helping farmers big and small to overcome food scarcity and climate challenges.

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🔮 Flashforward

RedSeas’ sights are set on further tapping into the controlled environment agriculture market ($270.2 billion by 2032), whilst a recent MoU with Saudi Downtown Company will see them design culturally-integrated greenhouses across Saudi Arabia, that leverages their tech.