Plenty Unlimited: $1B Vertical-Farming Unicorn Restructures After 99% Valuation Crash

In July 2017, headlines covered the moment when billionaires made it rain on indoor farming startup Plenty—a $200 million investment led by Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Vision Fund, with participation from Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt. The South San Francisco company developed vertical farming technology that used a fraction of the water and land required by conventional methods. By January 2025, Plenty was in talks for a financing round that would value existing shares at less than $15 million—a decline of more than 99% from its $1.9 billion peak valuation in 2022.

On March 23, 2025, Plenty Unlimited Texas LLC and six affiliated debtors filed voluntary chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas. The filing came with a prepackaged plan of reorganization and $20.7 million in debtor-in-possession financing, enabling the company to continue operating its Richmond, Virginia strawberry farm while restructuring. Just 53 days later, the court confirmed Plenty's plan, and the company emerged from bankruptcy on May 29, 2025 with exit financing from One Madison, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and additional investors.

The Plenty bankruptcy came amid a broader wave of indoor farming filings. Fourteen indoor farming and CEA-related bankruptcies occurred in 2025, with vertical farming operators accounting for the majority of failures. Combined historical funding across the failed companies exceeded $1.37 billion. Plenty alone had raised nearly $1 billion since its 2014 founding, making it the largest-funded vertical farming company to restructure.

Debtor(s)	Plenty Unlimited Texas LLC, et al. (7 debtors)
Court	U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Texas (Austin Division)
Petition Date	March 23, 2025
Plan Type	Second Amended Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization
Confirmation Date	May 15, 2025 (53 days)
Emergence Date	May 29, 2025
Total Funding Raised	~$940 million–$1 billion
Peak Valuation	$1.9 billion (January 2022)
Pre-Filing Valuation	<$15 million (99%+ decline)
DIP Facility	$20.7 million
Exit Financing Providers	One Madison, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and others

Company Background

Plenty was founded in South San Francisco in 2014 by Jack Oslan, Matt Barnard, Nate Mazonson, and Nate Storey. Matt Barnard initially served as CEO and board member, bringing experience from his prior role as President and COO at Whalen and Company. The company focused on vertical farms that could produce pesticide-free crops with zero fertilizer runoff while using a fraction of the water and land required in conventional farming.

Bright Agrotech acquisition. In June 2017, Plenty acquired Bright Agrotech, a leader in vertical farming production system technology. Bright Agrotech had been founded by Nate Storey as a graduate student at the University of Wyoming, and the relationship between the two companies dated back to 2013. Storey brought a background in crop science and agronomy. The acquisition consolidated Bright's patents and original equipment under Plenty, with all 43 employees retained. Storey had served as Plenty's chief science officer in a part-time capacity starting in 2015 before joining full-time following the acquisition. According to industry observers, the Bright Agrotech acquisition "folded in Storey's patents and original equipment."

Debtor structure. The chapter 11 cases encompassed seven jointly administered debtor entities reflecting Plenty's corporate evolution and geographic expansion:

Funding History and Investor Roster

Plenty's funding trajectory tracked capital availability for agtech during the low-interest-rate era and the reversal that followed. Since its 2014 inception, the company raised nearly $1 billion in total funding from a mix of technology and retail investors.

The 2017 SoftBank-led round expanded Plenty's investor base. The $200 million investment included participation from Jeff Bezos through Bezos Expeditions and Eric Schmidt through Innovation Endeavors. The involvement of these investors alongside SoftBank's Vision Fund generated media attention and coincided with Plenty's higher profile in the vertical farming sector.

The January 2022 $400 million Series E represented the largest investment to date for an indoor farming company. The round was led by new investors One Madison Group and JS Capital, with participation from strategic partner Walmart and existing investor SoftBank Vision Fund 1. The Series E valued Plenty at $1.9 billion according to PitchBook. Walmart's investment came with a strategic component: an agreement for Plenty to supply leafy greens to Walmart stores in California.

Investor commitments. SoftBank's Vision Fund funneled over $400 million into Plenty across multiple rounds, making it the company's largest backer. The full investor roster reflected both financial and strategic interest in indoor farming technology:

Strategic Pivot: From Leafy Greens to Strawberries

Plenty's evolution from leafy greens to premium strawberries reflected a shift in product focus that continued through the restructuring.

Walmart partnership and Compton facility. The 2022 Walmart investment included an agreement for Plenty to supply leafy greens to Walmart stores in California. To fulfill this commitment, Plenty opened a leafy greens farm in Compton, California in May 2023. The Compton facility was designed to produce up to 4.5 million pounds of leafy greens annually. Less than two years after opening, the Compton farm was shuttered in December 2024. Rising costs of doing business in California, including climbing energy prices, made the operation challenging. The closure coincided with the company's shift to strawberries.

Driscoll's partnership. In October 2020, Driscoll's and Plenty announced a joint development agreement to grow Driscoll's proprietary strawberries year-round in Plenty's vertical indoor farms. The partnership combined Plenty's technology with Driscoll's genetics.

Richmond facility opens. In September 2024, Plenty opened the world's first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale in Richmond, Virginia. The facility was designed to produce more than 4 million pounds of strawberries annually, with growing occurring in less than 40,000 square feet on 30-foot-tall towers. The farm uses AI to analyze more than 10 million data points each day across 12 grow rooms, optimizing growing conditions for the Driscoll's varieties. The Richmond location sits on Plenty's 120-acre farm campus, positioned as the largest indoor vertical farm campus in the world with a projected $300 million investment planned to bring more than 300 total jobs to Virginia.

The partnership continued through the bankruptcy process. Driscoll's Plenty Sweet strawberries launched as Driscoll's newest premium berry in early 2025, locally grown in the Richmond vertical farm and available at Walmart stores from Baltimore to D.C. The commercial product launch proceeded through the restructuring.

Path to Distress

By January 2025, Plenty was in talks to raise $125 million as part of a recapitalization that would value existing shares at less than $15 million—a decline of more than 90% from the $1.9 billion Series E valuation just three years earlier. New York investment firm One Madison Group was expected to lead the potential new financing, with SoftBank's Vision Fund and Walmart in discussions to participate.

Business model challenges. A large gap existed between what consumers were willing to pay for leafy greens and the costs of vertical farming. In California, rising energy prices made the Compton operation challenging, contributing to its December 2024 closure.

Leadership turnover. By the time of the bankruptcy filing, Plenty's founding leadership had departed. Matt Barnard, co-founder and original CEO, had long ago moved on to other ventures. Investor-CEO Arama Kukutai also left the company. Some industry observers noted the company "gave off a bit of a Theranos vibe" regarding the gap between ambitious promises and actual execution. Nate Storey, the Bright Agrotech founder who brought crop science and agronomy expertise, represented continuity on the technical side.

Industry Context: Vertical Farming Sector Collapse

Plenty's bankruptcy was part of a sector-wide wave of vertical farming filings.

2025 bankruptcy wave. Fourteen indoor farming and CEA-related bankruptcies occurred in 2025, with vertical farming operators accounting for the majority of failures. Combined historical funding across all failed companies exceeded an estimated $1.37 billion. Plenty, with approximately $1 billion raised, represented the largest-funded company to restructure. Other notable failures included Eden Green Technology, Freight Farms, and Vertical Future.

Predecessor failures. The 2025 wave built on earlier casualties. AeroFarms filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2023, securing $10 million in DIP financing from previous investors. The New Jersey-based company had been founded in 2004 and faced fiscal challenges since a 2021 attempt to go public through a SPAC merger fell through. AeroFarms emerged from bankruptcy in September 2023 with new leadership under acting CEO Molly Montgomery and major investors including Grosvenor Food & AgTech and Doha Venture Capital. The company focused exclusively on ramping up its Danville farm post-emergence. AppHarvest, another well-funded vertical farming company, also filed for bankruptcy protection in 2023.

Bowery Farming, once valued at $2.3 billion, ceased all operations in November 2024 after raising over $700 million in venture capital. Bowery struggled with weak demand for premium-priced products and yield disruptions from plant disease.

Capital environment shift. The vertical farming bankruptcies reflected a broader capital market transition. Easy money in the form of low-to-no interest rates had led to levered valuations across the agtech sector. Flush with capital, vertical farming enterprises failed to allocate resources efficiently, expanding presence and product offerings hastily without monitoring burn rates. When the interest rate climate shifted and funding flow dried up, investors demanded expense reductions. Equity capital markets effectively closed for unprofitable companies.

Industry observers expected further bankruptcies and farm closures as companies unable to achieve positive cash flow ran out of funding. The wave of bankruptcies coincided with increased consolidation and asset acquisitions.

Chapter 11 Filing and DIP Financing

On March 23, 2025, Plenty Unlimited Texas LLC and six affiliated debtors filed voluntary chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas. The filing came with a prepackaged structure: the debtors filed their plan of reorganization and disclosure statement on the same day as the petition, indicating substantial pre-filing negotiations with key stakeholders.

The filing stated assets and liabilities each in the range of $100 million to $500 million. Critical to continued operations, Plenty secured a commitment for DIP financing of $20.7 million. The DIP allowed the company to continue operating the Richmond, Virginia vertical strawberry farm and the Laramie, Wyoming R&D facility throughout the restructuring process. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP represented certain DIP lenders.

First day relief. The debtors filed first day motions seeking authority to maintain operations:

The first day orders entered on March 24, 2025 included joint administration, complex case treatment, claims agent retention (Stretto, Inc.), and the combined confirmation scheduling order. The complex case treatment designation reflected the multi-debtor nature of the case and the expedited timeline sought by the debtors.

Plan Confirmation and Emergence

The plan moved from petition to confirmation in 53 days.

Plan evolution. The debtors filed their original plan of reorganization and disclosure statement on the March 23, 2025 petition date. The First Amended Plan followed on May 2, 2025, with the Second Amended Plan filed on May 12, 2025. The May 14, 2025 confirmation hearing concluded, and the Confirmation Order entered on May 15, 2025—completing the case in approximately 60 days.

Consensual resolution. The restructuring resulted in a fully consensual plan. The debtors brokered a global settlement with key operational constituents including the general contractor, subcontractors, direct contractors, and landlord. The settlement addressed mechanic's liens and related issues. Additional stipulated resolutions included settlements with Kuehne & Nagel Inc. and Barry-Wehmiller Design Group, Inc.

Rights Offering. The plan included a Rights Offering component that allowed existing stakeholders to participate in the reorganized company. Rights Offering Procedures and Subscription Forms were filed on April 7, 2025.

Emergence. Plenty emerged from chapter 11 on May 29, 2025. Exit financing was provided by One Madison, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and additional investors. The company emerged with its Richmond strawberry operation intact and resumed construction to expand the farm's growing space. Following the first planting cycle, Plenty was preparing for a second strawberry planting.

Post-Confirmation Administration

The plan established a Liquidation Trust for post-confirmation claims administration. As of December 2025, the Liquidation Trust continues processing claims objections, with extensions to the claims objection deadline granted and Second and Third Omnibus Claims Objections filed. The active post-confirmation docket reflects the ongoing work of resolving disputed claims and making distributions.

UCC participation. An Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors was appointed and actively participated in the case. The UCC retained McDermott Will & Emery LLP as counsel and Province, LLC as financial advisor. Sands Anderson PC served as UCC Special Counsel. The final fee applications and orders for UCC professionals were processed in June and July 2025, consistent with the expedited case timeline.

Key Professionals

The restructuring assembled substantial professional resources across debtor, lender, and committee constituencies:

Debtor professionals:

DIP lender professionals:

UCC professionals:

Key declarants supporting the case included Colin M. Adams (First Day Declaration), Daniel Malech (supporting First Day Motions), Richard W. Morgner (supporting DIP Financing), and Ann Livermore and Philip Engel (supporting Plan Confirmation).

Key Timeline

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Plenty Unlimited and why did it file for bankruptcy?

Plenty is a vertical farming company founded in 2014 that developed indoor agricultural facilities to produce fresh produce using advanced technology. The company filed chapter 11 on March 23, 2025 after raising nearly $1 billion in total funding but seeing its valuation decline from $1.9 billion in January 2022 to under $15 million by early 2025. A large gap existed between what consumers were willing to pay for leafy greens and the costs of vertical farming.

Who were Plenty's investors?

Plenty attracted a high-profile investor roster including SoftBank Vision Fund (over $400 million across multiple rounds), Jeff Bezos through Bezos Expeditions, Walmart (both investor and strategic partner), Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors, One Madison Group (Series E co-lead), JS Capital (Series E co-lead), DCM Ventures, Finistere Ventures, and Driscoll's. The January 2022 Series E represented the largest investment ever made in an indoor farming company.

How long did the bankruptcy case take?

The case moved quickly due to its prepackaged structure. From the March 23, 2025 petition to the May 15, 2025 confirmation order was 53 days. Full emergence occurred on May 29, 2025—approximately 60 days from filing.

What happened to Plenty's leafy greens business?

Plenty closed its Compton, California leafy greens farm in December 2024, less than two years after the facility opened in May 2023. Rising costs of doing business in California, particularly climbing energy prices, made the operation challenging despite a supply agreement with Walmart. The closure coincided with the company's shift to premium strawberries.

What is the Driscoll's partnership?

In October 2020, Driscoll's and Plenty announced a joint development agreement to grow Driscoll's proprietary strawberries year-round in Plenty's vertical indoor farms. The partnership combines Plenty's advanced growing technology with Driscoll's advanced genetics. The "Driscoll's Plenty Sweet" brand launched in early 2025, with strawberries available at Walmart stores from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. The partnership survived the bankruptcy process.

What is the Richmond, Virginia facility?

The Richmond facility, opened in September 2024, is the world's first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale. The farm is designed to produce more than 4 million pounds of strawberries annually, with growing occurring in less than 40,000 square feet on 30-foot-tall towers. The facility uses AI to analyze more than 10 million data points daily across 12 grow rooms. It sits on Plenty's 120-acre farm campus, positioned as the largest indoor vertical farm campus in the world.

Who provided exit financing for emergence?

Exit financing was provided by One Madison, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and additional investors. The exit financing enabled Plenty to emerge, resume construction to expand the Richmond farm's growing space, and prepare for continued strawberry production.

What is the broader context for Plenty's bankruptcy?

Plenty's bankruptcy was part of a sector-wide wave in vertical farming. Fourteen indoor farming and CEA-related companies filed bankruptcy in 2025, with combined historical funding exceeding $1.37 billion. Other notable failures include AeroFarms (filed June 2023, emerged September 2023), AppHarvest (2023), and Bowery Farming (ceased operations November 2024 after raising over $700 million).

Is Plenty still operating after bankruptcy?

Yes. Plenty emerged from chapter 11 on May 29, 2025 and continues operating the Richmond, Virginia strawberry farm. The company resumed construction to expand the farm's growing space and was preparing for a second strawberry planting following the first planting cycle. The Laramie, Wyoming R&D facility also continued operations through the restructuring. Post-emergence, the company is focused on the premium strawberry market through its Driscoll's partnership.

What caused the vertical farming industry's challenges?

The vertical farming sector faced high energy costs for indoor lighting, climate control, and automation; gaps between production costs and achievable prices for leafy greens; and interest rate increases that curtailed cheap capital.

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