Zurich – The SSUG Flagship Fund I which started the investment phase on May 27th, 2020, is pleased to announce its first investment in the vertical farming startup Growcer. The fund is investing together with two family offices of successful Swiss entrepreneurs as part of the pre-seed funding round.
Growcer (www.growcer.com) has set up Switzerland’s first vertical farm in Basel. It has developed one of Europe’s most automated vertical farms, using latest achievements in Robotics & AI. The farm can produce leafy greens, herbs and berries all year round. The closed climate allows the farm to guarantee a constant production with consistent quality, output and costs. The food is cultivated in a nutrient solution without soil which uses 90% less water than field cultivation. The closed climate also permits pure production without pesticides and consumption without washing.
Max Meister, General Partner of the SSUG Flagship Fund I, says “Vertical farming is more than just a trend. In times in which the world is faced with challenges like feeding a growing population, mostly in cities, as well as land and water shortages, there is a real need for new approaches to how and where food is produced. The current COVID-19 crisis has also clearly shown that alternative food tech concepts have great potential and that the vertical farming sector will experience strong growth. Growcer is a very promising early stage company that operates in a sector with great growth potential. Also, it is very well positioned and has a great competitive advantage as the first mover on the Swiss market.”
”With Swiss Startup Group we gained a strong partner and excellent team, broad network and investor with deep business knowledge. The investment enables Growcer to intensify our R&D and leverage our automation concept which is key to cost-efficiency in vertical farming. Their support will allow us furthermore to keep up with the increasing demand for our farms.”, says Marcel Florian, CEO of Growcer.
Mike Baur, CEO of the Swiss Startup Group, adds, “This is an important next step for our venture platform. First, in 2016, Swiss Startup Group started to directly invest in its own accelerator startups and company building projects. Second, in 2018, we created our Investor Club for private, professional venture investors looking for direct early stage investments selected by our investment team. Last, with the recent launch our first early stage investment fund we are now able to offer a diversified venture investment approach on a discretionary basis. This important milestone allows us to complete our threelevel venture asset management architecture.” (SSUG/mc/ps)
About Swiss Startup Group AG
The Swiss Startup Group is a leading professional venture platform in Switzerland with offices in Zurich and Lausanne. It scouts, analyses, values, builds-up startups and advises domestic as well international companies on innovation and transformation. Together with private and institutional investors, the Swiss Startup Group invests in selected ventures in Switzerland, Europe and the U.S.
About the SSUG Flagship Fund I
Swiss Startup Group has set up its own venture investment fund, the SSUG Flagship Fund I, with the aim of investing in early stage companies and conducting follow-on investments in its existing portfolio. It is dedicated to qualified private and institutional investors who want to invest in early stage ventures through a diversified approach and on a discretionary basis. It is a suitable solution for all investors who wish to delegate investment decisions to a skilled team of venture professionals. Swiss Startup Capital AG a fully owned subsidiary of Swiss Startup Group AG, is responsible to manage the SSUG Flagship Fund I.
