Indoor farming pioneer strengthens Smart Farm model with new capital infusion to scale automated strawberry production, expand retail footprint across the US and Japan, and deepen its precision agriculture technology stack amid a reshaping global agri-tech landscape
In a decisive vote of confidence for the evolving architecture of controlled-environment agriculture, Oishii—the company synonymous with high-precision indoor strawberry cultivation—has announced the first closing of its $150 million Series C financing round, marking a pivotal transition from experimental scalability to industrial maturation.
Led by SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd., with participation from a consortium of prominent institutional investors including Nomura Real Estate Development Co. Ltd, MISUMI Group Inc, and Mizuho Bank Ltd, the funding round signals sustained conviction in Oishii’s “Smart Farm” model at a time when much of the vertical farming sector has been undergoing a period of recalibration and capital retrenchment.
Unlike the exuberant early phase of indoor agriculture, characterised by rapid expansion and equally rapid consolidation, Oishii’s trajectory has been notably more disciplined—anchored in robotics, automation, and a tightly engineered production philosophy that seeks to reconcile horticultural precision with industrial predictability. The company’s system integrates advanced automation with traditional Japanese cultivation methodologies, an unusual but increasingly influential hybrid approach in the global agri-tech landscape.
The fresh capital infusion is expected to significantly expand production capacity across Oishii’s indoor farm network in the United States while simultaneously strengthening its technological footprint in Japan. Central to this expansion is the continued deployment of robotics systems—particularly in pollination and harvesting—enhanced further by the company’s acquisition of Tortuga AgTech and a strategic partnership with MISUMI Group Inc., a global leader in industrial automation components.
Oishii’s evolution also reflects a broader recalibration of vertical farming economics. Once defined by ultra-premium positioning and niche consumer appeal, the company has gradually widened its commercial aperture. From the early introduction of its Omakase Berry at luxury price points, it has since diversified into multiple product tiers, including the Koyo and Nikko varieties, with retail offerings now spanning a far more accessible price spectrum.
This strategic broadening has been complemented by innovations in packaging and shelf-life optimisation, including a proprietary stay-fresh sealing system that significantly reduces plastic usage while extending product durability—an essential factor in scaling fresh produce across long supply chains.
Institutional investors backing the round have underscored not only the company’s technological differentiation but also its executional discipline. SPARX Asset Management, in particular, highlighted Oishii’s progression from concept validation to full commercial deployment as a rare example of consistent delivery in a sector often defined by volatility and unmet expectations.
At its core, Oishii’s thesis rests on a deceptively simple premise: that strawberries—among the most delicate and labour-intensive fruits in global agriculture—can be transformed into a reliably produced, year-round commodity through extreme environmental control and algorithmic precision. Yet beneath this simplicity lies a deeply complex engineering challenge, one that the company continues to address through iterative advances in automation, R&D infrastructure, and operational scaling.
The newly raised capital will be deployed to expand farm infrastructure, deepen robotics integration, and accelerate research initiatives across both the United States and Japan, including the development of a dedicated Open Innovation Center in Tokyo. These investments are designed to consolidate Oishii’s position at the intersection of food technology, robotics, and high-value horticulture.
Having raised a cumulative $370 million since its founding in 2016, Oishii now enters what its leadership describes as a “new phase of confidence”—a stage defined not by proving feasibility, but by refining scale, efficiency, and market reach.
In a sector still grappling with questions of profitability and long-term viability, Oishii’s latest financing round stands as both a validation of its model and a broader signal: that the future of premium agriculture may no longer lie in fields alone, but increasingly within precisely calibrated, data-driven environments engineered for consistency as much as for taste.
