Fifth Season, a Drive Capital-backed vertical farming startup that used advanced robotics to grow a variety of leafy greens for salad kits sold at hundreds of grocery stores, has shut down – ending plans for a Columbus expansion.
According to multiple sources, the revenue-producing startup officially closed its doors on Friday, according to sister publication Pittsburgh Inno.
Columbus' Drive Capital LLC led a $35 million venture round in 2019, which helped finance the company's 60,000-square-foot indoor farming facility in Braddock, a historic steel town near Pittsburgh.
It employed about 100 workers, mostly at the corporate office in a renovated riverfront warehouse, with some at the AI-powered hydroponics farm.
A representative from the company declined to speak on the record about the startup's closing.
"After three fun-filled and highly educational years at Fifth Season, the company is sadly no more, and I'm on the lookout for my next endeavor," a former employee said in a public LinkedIn post on Tuesday.
On Monday, another former Fifth Season employee shared on LinkedIn: "Working for Fifth Season has been an amazing experience. … Sadly, this journey is ending with Fifth Season closing its doors due to this challenging macroeconomic environment."
And on Saturday, when news first broke of the startup's closure, another former Fifth Season employee on LinkedIn posted: "Unfortunately like many startups in this current economy, Fifth Season officially shut its doors yesterday. This has been a highlight of my career thus far, and I'm excited to see where things take me."
Further details on what led to the company's closure are unknown, though it comes amid a local and national backdrop of difficult times for capital-heavy tech startups seeking additional investments amid tightening economic conditions.
It planned to open a new 180,000-square-foot hydroponics facility in Columbus in 2023. The location had not been disclosed.
A Carnegie Mellon University spinout founded in 2016 by CEO Austin Webb, Chief Operating Officer Brac Webb and Chief Technology Officer Austin Lawrence, Fifth Season went on to raise more than $75 million in outside investments.
The closing is a blow to Drive, which raised $1 billion over two new funds in July for a cumulative $2.2 bilion under management. The VC firm's first funds from a decade ago have returned more than what limited partners put in, but some of its marquee portfolio companies such as Root Inc. and Olive AI Inc. have struggled this year. Others like biotech Grove City biotech Forge Biologics are growing quickly.
Drive through a spokesman declined to comment.
Just weeks ago, Fifth Season announced a new salad product and a complete redesign of its packaging. In September, it offered a media tour of its Braddock farm to celebrate the full activation of its on-site microgrid that is capable of supplying 1,360 kilowatts of electricity to the site during peak usage.
That followed the August announcement that Fifth Season began offering its salad kits at local Whole Foods locations, the latest addition to the more than 750 grocery stores where consumers could find its products.
Fifth Season also had huge ambitions for the future: A year ago Austin Webb had said he envisioned the startup producing $500 million in annual revenue over the next five years.
Fifth Season's tech used end-to-end robotics-assisted automation to not only grow, but also harvest its various leafy vegetables, which were then packaged and sold as salads, mixed greens or in variety packs. Its highly automated Braddock farm had about 20 people working during any given shift, a small-scale crew for a facility the size of a football field.
Carrie Ghose of Columbus Business First contributed to this report.
