Bezos-Backed Farm Startup in Talks for More Than 90% Value Cut

  • Plenty Unlimited, once a unicorn, appoints new interim CEO
  • Move highlights hard times for vertical farming tech companies
The Plenty Unlimited Inc. headquarters in South San Francisco, California.Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
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Plenty Unlimited Inc., a pioneer of vertical farming that’s drawn backing from billionaires including Jeff Bezos, is in talks for a new funding round that will virtually wipe out existing stockholders, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Plenty, which has brought in almost $1 billion from investors like Eric Schmidt and SoftBank Group Corp., is in talks to raise another $125 million as part of the recapitalization, according to people familiar with the matter. The new deal would value the company’s existing shares at less than $15 million, one person said. Previously, investors had valued Plenty at $1.9 billion, according to PitchBook.