Startup "Foodtech" Greens Receives Pre-Early Fund Injection Led by East Ventures

Startups foodtech Greens announced it had raised an undisclosed amount of pre-early funding. The round was led by East Ventures, with the participation of AAG Ventures, a web3 infrastructure company with a mission to bring global economic opportunities through the metaverse economy to users mainstream.

In an official statement, Greens CEO Andi Sie said this investment support is a strong proof of the startup's solutions and mission. Greens brings integrated food technology to create new food ecosystems, to improve the way people grow and obtain food.

"Food is everyone's basic need and we believe the Greens solution can improve and create a better life through the closest needs of the community," said Andi, Tuesday (2/8).

Greens was founded by Andi Sie (CEO), Geraldi Tjoa (CPO), and Erwin Gunawan (CBO). The diverse skills of the three founder this unifies the vision in the founding of Greens. Andi previously had experience as a startup transformation expert with more than 15 years of experience in the United States and Indonesia with various experiences exit. Erwin has more than 15 years of experience in supply chain, F&B, distribution and blockchain certificates.

Meanwhile, Geraldi is strong in food production and automation, with a background in robotics, a graduate of Computer Science from Pelita Harapan University. Meanwhile, Andi and Erwin are graduates of Bachelor of Science from The Ohio State University.

The background for the establishment of Greens stems from the fact that in Indonesia there are as many as 48 million metric tons of food wasted every year. Most of it is wasted due to inefficient processing, storage, transportation and sale of food products. As a country with abundant agricultural resources, as a result, Indonesia has a very high risk of soil erosion.

This condition threatens food security because of the lack of organic content in the soil, which will damage crop yields, and lead to various problems related to malnutrition and even food scarcity.

Another source cited by the company, based on the quality and safety score of the food control system, Indonesia was ranked 7th out of 9 ASEAN countries in 2020. The problems above will continue and are interrelated in Indonesia's food system. “This ongoing issue is a driving force for the founders of Greens to advance the transformation of the food system in Indonesia.”

Greens Solution

Greens has a mission to bring food equality to all communities through meta farming. The solution presented is a new hyperlocal food ecosystem, which allows people to consume highly nutritious foods (super food) that are grown and harvested on the spot, called microGREENS (which contain up to 40 times more vitamins, minerals and antioxidant levels than regular vegetables) from wherever they are through meta farming. In addition, it uses 90% less water, 70% less land, and without the process of moving the distance from planting to food.

With meta farming, Greens democratize hyperlocal food with web3 using agricultural technology innovations in the form of pod (Greens pod) which utilizes an indoor cultivation system, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligencee(AI), and Internet of Things (IoT) to make food sources decentralized.

Greens creates a technology platform with a blockchain network that will be used in parallel in the real world and in the world metaverse. The company has built the first portable CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculter) technology in blockchain with multiple cropping algorithms.

“The Greens platform consists of a fully automated garden unit, called the Greens pod which is modular, portable and plug-and-play. The Greens pod platform is fully integrated to produce highly nutritious foods, from seeds to salads and various other dishes, which can be accessed from wherever you are,” added Greeens Co-founder and CPO Geraldi Tjoa.

The company will allocate this fresh fund to build a decentralized food ecosystem in two stages. The first phase will focus on enabling the hyperlocal food ecosystem by creating a cloud network for hyperlocal food outlets connected to the Greens platform. Then in the second stage, will focus on meta farming which allows people to plant food in metaverse, either for personal consumption or sale.

Currently, the GREENS solution has contributed to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations; with several key impacts including: Goals No. 1 & 2 by supporting communities in growing their own food through platforms, No. 3 by providing essential micronutrients, No. 6 by using 90% less water and without using harmful chemicals for agriculture, etc. other.

East Ventures Partner Melisa Irene shared a statement, “Greens helps reduce food distribution inefficiencies by closing the distance between where food is grown and harvested so you can grow your own food on the spot. We are pleased to welcome GREENS as part of the East Ventures portfolio and fully support GREENS' mission to localize food production to increase the resilience and sustainability of the food system in Indonesia."

In October 2022, the Greens will open o its first hyperlocal at Plaza Indonesia, Jakarta.