WMT Walmart Inc

By Colin Kellaher

Walmart Inc. on Tuesday said it is investing in Plenty Unlimited Inc. as part of a partnership with the indoor vertical-farming startup aimed at bringing fresh produce to the retail giant year-round.

Walmart's investment is part of a $400 million series E funding round at an undisclosed valuation for Plenty being led by new investors One Madison Group and JS Capital.

SoftBank Group Corp.'s SoftBank Vision Fund, a previous investor in Plenty, is also participating in the round, which brings the South San Francisco, Calif., company's total funding to more than $940 million.

Plenty said it will use the new funds to support its growth strategy, including leveraging its platform to sell multi-crop farms directly to partners.

Walmart said its new partnership with Plenty will use the startup's indoor vertical-farming platform to deliver fresh produce to the Bentonville, Ark., company's retail stores.

Representatives of Walmart and One Madison will join Plenty's board.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 25, 2022 09:41 ET (14:41 GMT)

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