This week we named Grove a startup to watch in 2016, but I’ll forgive the founders if they’re a bit more excited about today’s news—the Somerville company just closed out its Kickstarter campaign with $412,181 raised, quadrupling the $100,000 goal.
There wasn’t much drama about whether the campaign would succeed, though, since it crossed its goal within hours of launching. But the level of interest does seem a vote of confidence for Grove’s vision of creating a movement around indoor food-growing.
The Grove Ecosystem—about the size of a bookshelf—uses LED lights and aquaponics (fish) to grow food in any room of the house. The Kickstarter campaign let people order the system for $2,700-$3,500, depending on tier. The product is expected to start shipping in March (U.S. only). Once the Grove Ecosystem starts retailing in 2016, it’ll run for $4,500, according to the company.
Grove’s system enables fish, plants and microbes to work together to provide the nutrients for growing food. The system is ideal for growing herbs and small fruits and vegetables, such as lettuces, tomatoes and peppers. It’s also 50 to 75 percent faster and two times more productive than outdoor growing, according to Grove. The system works with Grove’s app, Grove OS, which guides users through the growing process, while also offering control over elements of the system (such as water and light levels).
Grove was founded in 2013 by two MIT students, Jamie Byron and Gabe Blanchet, in their fraternity. The startup is launching its system on Kickstarter after testing it with more than 50 early adopters in the Boston area. Grove has raised $4 million in funding from Upfront Ventures, Vayner, Rugged Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Galvanize Ventures and Tim Ferriss.
Photo courtesy of Grove.
