Plenty Unlimited
Growing lettuce with LEDs and robots in warehouses costs 10x more than conventional farming. Nearly $1B proved it doesn't scale.
2014 → 2025
$941M
AgTech/Vertical Farming
USA
IdeaProof AI Failure Score
Full Analysis
Plenty aimed to revolutionize agriculture with indoor vertical farms growing produce year-round using LED lighting and robotics. Despite nearly $1B from SoftBank and Jeff Bezos, the energy costs alone made produce 5-10x more expensive than field-grown alternatives. The Compton, CA mega-farm underperformed expectations. Driscoll's berry partnership couldn't generate enough revenue. The company shut down in 2025, joining a growing list of vertical farming failures.
Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?
IdeaProof's AI validates market demand, competitive positioning, and business model viability in minutes — catching the exact issues that sank Plenty Unlimited.