Iron Ox Funding, Investors & Competitors

Iron Ox has raised $103M across 6 funding rounds, most recently a $53M Series C in September 2021.

Last Iron Ox funding round

$53M

Series C · Sep 2021

Cumulative funding Iron Ox raised

$103M

across 6 funding rounds

Key investors in Iron Ox

  • Eniac Ventures
  • Amplify Partners
  • Y Combinator
  • Crosslink Capital
  • Tuesday Capital
  • Pathbreaker Ventures
  • R7 Partners
  • Anorak Ventures

Iron Ox Overview

About Iron Ox

Iron Ox is an agtech company specializing in robotic hydroponic farming. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Gilroy, California, it operates AI-controlled greenhouses in Gilroy and Lockhart, Texas. Iron Ox grows high-yield leafy greens, herbs, and strawberries using computer vision, automation, and nutrient delivery systems, producing over 1 million pounds of produce annually while using 90 percent less water than traditional methods.


Founded

2015

HQ

United StatesSan Francisco, CA

Website

ironox.com

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Product sales

Iron Ox Funding History

Iron Ox has raised a total of $103M across 6 funding rounds.

Iron Ox's first fundraising round was a $2M pre-seed round in April 2016. The most recent completed round was a $53M Series C in September 2021.

Iron Ox funding rounds

Iron Ox funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Sep 2021Series CBreakthrough Energy Ventures (lead); Eniac Ventures; At One Ventures; Y Combinator; i/o Ventures; R7 Partners; Tuesday Capital; Amplify Partners; Pathbreaker Ventures; Crosslink Capital$53MIron Ox is an autonomous farming startup founded in 2015 that operates semi-autonomous greenhouse facilities using robots and artificial intelligence to grow leafy greens, berries, and herbs. The company's farms require 90% less water than traditional farms and 90% less electricity than LED-based vertical farms according to company claims. In September 2021, Iron Ox closed a Series C funding round of $53 million led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, bringing total funding to $98 million. Additional investors in the round included Crosslink Capital, R7 Partners, Pathbreaker Ventures, i/o Ventures, Amplify Partners, ENIAC Ventures, Tuesday Ventures, At One Ventures, and Y Combinator. The company planned to use proceeds to expand its grocery store presence, accelerate hiring of plant scientists, engineers, greenhouse operators and roboticists, and scale manufacturing and U.S. operations. Iron Ox operates farms in the San Francisco Bay Area, Gilroy California, and Lockhart Texas, with the Lockhart facility being its largest. The company has set a long-term goal of making the produce sector carbon negative and achieving net-zero emissions across its operations.
Sep 2020Series BPathbreaker Ventures (lead); Eniac Ventures; At One Ventures; Y Combinator; R7 Partners; Tuesday Capital; Amplify Partners; Crosslink Capital$20MIron Ox, based in San Carlos, California, develops AI-enabled autonomous technology for robotic greenhouses and farms, aiming to produce fresher, more consistent produce using advancements in plant science, machine learning, and robotics. The company launched the world's first autonomous farm in October 2018 and had begun selling its produce in California by 2019. On September 10, 2020, Iron Ox raised $20 million in a Series B funding round from investors including Amplify Partners, At One Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Eniac Ventures, Pathbreaker Ventures, R7 Partners, and Tuesday Ventures, with Pathbreaker Ventures as the lead. The funding supported Iron Ox's efforts to expand its robotic farming operations globally and improve food security by servicing communities with fresh produce. Subsequently, Iron Ox raised $53 million in a Series C round on September 22, 2021, from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and continued with additional funding, reaching a total of approximately $96.32 million across multiple rounds by 2022. The company operated in the growing agtech sector alongside competitors like Saga Robotics and Blue White Robotics, which also secured funding for agricultural robotics in 2020.
Sep 2019Series ACrosslink Capital (lead); R7 Partners (lead); Eniac Ventures; Tuesday Capital; Amplify Partners; ATEL Ventures$20MIron Ox is an urban agriculture startup founded in 2015 that employs a robotics-first approach to sustainable, scalable indoor vertical farming, producing premium leafy greens like kale and rocket for sale to restaurants and supermarkets such as Whole Foods and Safeway in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company focuses on automation to address labor shortages in farming, particularly for older farmers, and invests in teams of growers and plant scientists alongside robotic systems. Iron Ox emphasizes produce quality over just robotics, positioning as a farm producing for local markets. The company operates in the competitive indoor farming space alongside peers like Bowery Farming (raised $50 million Series B extension in November 2019, total $172.5 million), Plenty (raised $400 million, over $1 billion valuation), and Agricool ($39 million raised).
Jan 2018SeedAmplify Partners (lead); Eniac Ventures (lead); 7percent Ventures; Anorak Ventures; Colin Carrier; Innovating Capital$3MIron Ox is a San Francisco-based developer of robots for crop harvesting and autonomous farming in proprietary greenhouses using robotics, AI, and plant science to reduce agriculture's environmental impact. The company launched its first autonomous farm in 2018. In January 2018, Iron Ox raised $3 million in seed funding led by Eniac Ventures, joined by Amplify Partners and others including 7percent Ventures, Anorak Ventures, Colin Carrier, and Innovating Capital.
Oct 2017SeedFormic Ventures (lead); 7percent Ventures$5M-
Apr 2016Pre-seedY Combinator (lead); CSC Upshot; Avant Global LLC; Anorak Ventures; Comet Labs; Cherubic Ventures; Pathbreaker Ventures; Vijay Pradeep$2M-

Who has invested in Iron Ox?

21 investors have backed Iron Ox across its funding rounds, including Eniac Ventures, Amplify Partners, Y Combinator, Crosslink Capital, Tuesday Capital and Pathbreaker Ventures.

Lead investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Pathbreaker Ventures, Crosslink Capital, R7 Partners, Amplify Partners and 3 other investors.


Iron Ox Investors

Investors in Iron Ox by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Eniac VenturesUnited StatesNew York City, NY4LeadJan 2018
Amplify PartnersUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA4LeadJan 2018
Y CombinatorUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3LeadApr 2016
R7 PartnersUnited StatesChicago, IL3LeadSep 2019
Tuesday CapitalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3ParticipantSep 2019
Pathbreaker VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3LeadApr 2016
Crosslink CapitalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3LeadSep 2019
At One VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2ParticipantSep 2020
7percent VenturesUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom2ParticipantOct 2017
Anorak VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2ParticipantApr 2016
CSC UpshotUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantApr 2016
Avant Global LLCUnited StatesLas Vegas, NV1ParticipantApr 2016
Breakthrough Energy VenturesFranceParis1LeadSep 2021

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Iron Ox Competitors

Iron Ox competitors include listed companies like Tongwei, First Solar and Nextracker, and private ones like Indigo, Pivot Bio and Plenty.

Public and private companies comparable to Iron Ox
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
TongweiChinaChinaPublicly listed$13B$461M$7.4B1.5x
IndigoUnited StatesBoston, MAPrivate$163M-$3.5B21.5x
Pivot BioUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$2B-
PlentyUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$1.9B-
First SolarUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$5.2B$2.1B$22B4.0x
NextrackerUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$3.6B$747M$13B2.9x

Iron Ox Public Comps

Iron Ox is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Siemens, Schneider Electric, ABB, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Delta Electronics (Thailand), Johnson Controls, Emerson Electric, Honeywell and Teradyne.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Siemens$91B$15B3.0x2.9x18.1x15.7x
Schneider Electric$46B$9.5B4.3x3.9x21.0x18.4x
ABB$33B$6.9B5.4x4.9x25.9x22.6x
Hitachi$68B$11B2.2x2.2x13.8x13.5x
Mitsubishi$122B$8.7B1.2x1.2x17.2x21.8x
Delta Electronics (Thailand)$5.9B$1.1B15.0x11.4x80.8x64.9x
Johnson Controls$24B$3B4.0x3.7x31.0x20.0x
Emerson Electric$18B$4.7B5.2x5.0x19.9x17.1x

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Common questions about Iron Ox

When was Iron Ox founded?Iron Ox was founded in 2015.
Where is Iron Ox headquartered?Iron Ox is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States.
Is Iron Ox publicly listed?No, Iron Ox is a private, VC-backed company.
How much funding has Iron Ox raised?Iron Ox has raised $103M across 6 funding rounds.
What was Iron Ox's last funding round?Iron Ox's last funding round was a $53M Series C in September 2021, led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Who are Iron Ox's investors?Iron Ox's investors include Eniac Ventures, Amplify Partners, Y Combinator, R7 Partners, Tuesday Capital, Pathbreaker Ventures, Crosslink Capital, At One Ventures, 7percent Ventures, Anorak Ventures and 11 others.
Which companies are comparable to Iron Ox?Companies comparable to Iron Ox include Tongwei, Indigo, Pivot Bio, Plenty, First Solar and Nextracker.

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