TruLeaf Secures $250,000 In Venture Capital
August 17th, 2012
A Nova Scotia company developing an indoor farming system for leafy greens is enhancing its product with an investment from the province.
TruLeaf has secured $250,000 in venture capital from Innovacorp.
“Innovative, knowledge-based start-ups like TruLeaf are the way of the future and play an important role in growing our province’s economy,” said Truro-Bible Hill MLA Lenore Zann, on behalf of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism Minister Percy Paris. “The fact that TruLeaf’s technology could one day grow fresh produce anywhere in the world is astounding and could be a huge help for NGOs fighting against world hunger.
“This provincial investment supports the innovation and competitiveness priorities of jobsHere, our plan to grow the economy.”
The company’s TruLeaf SmartPlant System is a multi-layer plant farm that grows fresh produce anywhere in the world, regardless of environment, 365 days a year. The system integrates growing technologies in a controlled environment to grow high-quality, predictable-yield, price-competitive leafy greens.
“The demand for sustainably grown food is increasing with global population growth, rising consumption and resource scarcity,” said Thomas Rankin, investment manager at Innovacorp. “TruLeaf’s technology platform and innovative business model has the potential to transform the agricultural sector and provide customers with a healthier, fresher product market.”
The company was founded in 2011 by Gregg Curwin, a veteran of the medical device and biological sector. Mr. Curwin started thinking about ways to improve people’s heath by using food to reverse and avoid disease. The company has research and development operations in Truro and offices in Halifax.
“Our unique systems grow fresh, healthy plants in scalable farms that we can build almost anywhere in the world,” said Mr. Curwin, president and CEO of TruLeaf. “This investment will help us meet an urgent demand for sustainable agricultural solutions in the global market.”