Apeel Sciences, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based food waste prevention company, raised $250M in financing.
The round, which brought Apeel Sciences’ valuation to over $1 billion, was led by GIC with participation from Viking Global Investors, Upfront Ventures, Tao Capital Partners and Rock Creek Group. Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry have also joined the effort as minority, non-participatory investors.
The company intends to use the funds to expand its solution among U.S. and European produce suppliers and retailers and conduct growth initiatives in economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America.
Founded in 2012 by CEO James Rogers, PhD, Apeel provides a plant-derived refrigeration solution to combat the waste of fruits and vegetables throughout almost every step of the supply chain — from packer to retailer and to consumers at home. In 2020, the company is on track to save 20 million pieces of fruit from going to waste at retail stores. Apeel Sciences was founded via a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
FinSMEs
26/05/2020