Whether it’s chive, parsley, or dill – herbs are an integral part of every kitchen. They can be cultivated in a garden or bought directly at the grocery store. Cultivating them at home, however, is no easy task and more often than not does not bring the envisioned results. To avoid these disappointments, startup Agrilution has developed a new solution: “Plantcube”, a smart greenhouse for the kitchen. The Munich-based startup was able to secure Series A financing in mid-May. According to company founder Maximilian Lössl they received several millions in this financing round.

Vertical farming via remote control for everyone

The inventors of this smart solution that enables “vertical farming” for every home, convinced a number of reputable sponsors. Next to Tengelmann Ventures and Kraut Capital, the lightbulb manufacturer Osram via his venture capital unit Fluxunit is also one of the investors.

Co-founders Maximilian Lössl and Philipp Wagner worked on their invention for four years. The idea: the refrigerator-like greenhouse would grow fresh herbs and vegetables at home for everyone – no prior knowledge needed. In addition to the hardware the startup also provides the seeds for the home-grown salad. They are offering packages from dill to beetroot or lettuce. The greenhouse-fridge automatically recognizes which seeds were planted and adjusts temperature, hydration and light intensity accordingly. A smartphone or tablet-app allows for remote control over the cultivation in the kitchen-greenhouse.

The money from the financing round will be used to grow the team at Agrilution, prepare for serial production of the kitchen greenhouse, and to cover marketing costs. Their aim is to introduce the first “Plug-and-play-premium-product” out of the smart kitchen greenhouse to the market in the fall. Lössl says that 5,000 customers already registered to buy their invention. It will be available online for an estimated €2,000.

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