Freight Farms
AcquiredTechstars '13Boston, US · Founded 2013 · Delaware corporation · 24 employees on LinkedIn · 7 known investors
Freight Farms designs and operates hydroponic container farms that enable local food production in urban and rural areas worldwide. The company serves small businesses, entrepreneurs, traditional farmers, hotels, restaurants, corporate campuses, universities, and nonprofits seeking year-round access to fresh produce through a modular farming infrastructure.
Also known as Freight Farms, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Freight Farms was founded in 2013 by Brad McNamara, Jon Friedman, and Jonathan Friedman.
Board
Investors · 7
Also in the syndicate · 2
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$35M disclosed across 4 of 5 rounds · 2014–2022
▶$17.7MraisedNov 2022 · 8 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Chris PapourasDirector
- Zach MorseDirector
- Rick VanzuraDirector, Executive Officer
- Jonathan FriedmanDirector
- Offering amount
- $26.5M
- Amount sold
- $17.7M
- First sale
- Nov 2022
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$5.6MraisedFeb 2020 · 9 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Todd DagresDirector
- Jonathan FriedmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Brad McNamaraExecutive Officer, Director
- Chris PapourasDirector
- Offering amount
- $5.6M
- Amount sold
- $5.6M
- First sale
- Feb 2020
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$8.1MraisedMar 2019 · 14 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Steven WarrenExecutive Officer
- Jonathan FriedmanExecutive Officer, Director
- Reenie McCarthyDirector
- Brad McNamaraExecutive Officer, Director, Promoter
- Offering amount
- $13.1M
- Amount sold
- $8.1M
- First sale
- Apr 2017
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$3.7MraisedDec 2014 · 9 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Todd DagresDirector
- Jonathan FriedmanExecutive Officer
- Reenie McCarthyDirector
- Brad McNamaraExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $3.7M
- Amount sold
- $3.7M
- First sale
- Dec 2014
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2013
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Freight Farms is a Boston-based agricultural technology company that manufactures and sells vertical hydroponic farms built inside intermodal shipping containers, together with the software and services needed to operate them. Its current product is the Greenery S, a commercial-scale modular container farm with a closed-loop water system and a flexible cultivation area whose aisles can move to accommodate crops of different sizes. A single unit is stated to produce 2-6 tons of produce per year and to support lettuces, leafy greens, herbs, brassicas, some root vegetables, microgreens and edible flowers; the company says it has internally trialled more than 500 crop varieties. The farms are paired with farmhand, an IoT software platform introduced in 2014 that provides remote farm control, environmental automation (temperature, lighting and other variables), data analytics, crop planning and pre-set growing recipes, and that can also be connected to non-Freight Farms indoor growing setups [0][2][3][5][6].
Beyond hardware and software, the company sells training and client services, including a "Farm Camp" training program, onboarding, logistics coordination and ongoing technical support with a designated support representative per customer. Freight Farms states it does not franchise and describes itself as exclusively an equipment and software sales company and service provider; it will not retrofit customer-supplied containers and builds only in new containers it purchases [0][3].
The company positions its distributed, customer-owned model against centralized vertical farming operators, arguing it can place production in food deserts and difficult climates such as Alaska, Caribbean islands, Scandinavia and Egypt. In 2025 Freight Farms became part of Growcer, a Canadian vertical farming company, and continues to operate under the Freight Farms name [2][5][6].
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 1
by search overlapCompanies competing with Freight Farms for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Non-dilutive funding · 1 SBIR/STTR award
Federal grants — no equity taken| Agency | Phase | Year | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA | Phase ISTTR | 2016 | $125K |
Source: SBIR.gov award data (U.S. Small Business Administration). SBIR/STTR awards are competitive federal R&D grants and contracts — non-dilutive capital alongside any venture rounds above.
Timeline · 16
launches, deals, and filingsFreight Farms became part of Growcer, a Canadian agritech/vertical farming company; Freight Farms continues to operate under its own name.
The board unanimously appointed Brad Griffith, former CCO of Compass Minerals and a 23-year agri-food veteran, as Chief Executive Officer.
Company communications reference a previously announced business combination agreement with Agrinam Acquisition Corporation (TSX: AGRI.U) alongside reported growth in nonprofit, healthcare and education sectors.
CEO Rick Vanzura and CFO Monalisa Shroff participated in the ICR Conference held January 8-10, 2024 in Orlando, FL, announced jointly with Agrinam Acquisition Corporation (TSX: AGRI.U).
Farm-as-a-service offering introduced by parent company Growcer allowing customers to access a farm for $3,000 per month instead of purchasing outright.
Partnership with the farmer sales platform Local Line to help new farmers launch businesses.
Funding earmarked for hardware and software R&D and hiring in customer experience, engineering, and sales and marketing.
$17.5M source ↗
Collaboration on research into a circular economy of food production and the role of vertical farming.
Award given for the farmhand IoT farm automation software.
Facility opened to support growth, in-house customer training and expanded research and development.
New farm model combining specialized space, light, air, water and control systems, based on customer research feedback.
The Greenery was the company's first iteration on its original container farm design.
Round led by returning investor Spark Capital with participation from Launch Capital and new investor Stage 1 Ventures; reported total funding of $12 million at the time. A Form D was filed with the SEC in April 2017.
$7.3M source ↗
Freight Farms announced it would provide container farms to 32 of the firm's shopping centers across several states.
Companion software for the Leafy Green Machine that automates in-farm processes and provides remote monitoring and control.
Freight Farms was incorporated in 2013 and released the Leafy Green Machine, described by the company as the first hydroponic container farm on the market.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Freight Farmsfreightfarms.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Freight Farms do?
- Freight Farms builds hydroponic vertical farms inside shipping containers plus IoT farm-management software; acquired by Growcer in 2025.
- Who founded Freight Farms?
- Freight Farms was founded by Brad McNamara, Jon Friedman, Jonathan Friedman in 2013.
- Who are Freight Farms's investors?
- Freight Farms's investors include Ospraie Ag Science, LaunchCapital, Techstars, Rothenberg Ventures, Spark Capital.
- How much funding has Freight Farms raised?
- Freight Farms has disclosed $35M raised across 4 of its 5 known rounds.
- Where is Freight Farms headquartered?
- Freight Farms is headquartered in Boston, US.