No one else in America is doing something at that scale. Webb: Regulators are pounding on them, consumers are pounding on them. He has over 100 civil and criminal jury trials and has represented clients in counties across Georgia. He acknowledges that scaling up so quickly in the middle of a pandemic is, almost unheard of in the current world. AppHarvest is known for its approach to CEA, which Webb called the "third wave of sustainable infrastructure." A former England international, he reached the World Cup Final in 1991 and was a two-time grand slam champion in the Five Nations. We're in our first decade and we're going to try to look at judging the company on decade one, decade two, and decade three. US controlled environment agriculture (CEA) startup AppHarvest has announced a merger with NASDAQ-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Novus Capital, enabling it to go public. We believe controlled environment agriculture is the third wave of sustainable infrastructure. Webb was also the first LPGA player to win $1 million in a single season, finishing first on the year-end money list. But then it's pulling technology in to drive nature from behind. Age : 37. Webb is one of very few knee surgeons to have played for both the England-France national teams. Who were the most active food and agriculture technology venture capital firms in 2022. I feel like with AppHarvest, at least, my takeaway, I found a lot of things that make you all special. Good CEOs do both., Given the rapidly worsening climate outlook, all founders should focus on building a business that will be more powerful in 30 years than it will in 30 days, he said. Again, tomatoes are our first crop, but by next year, strawberries and leafy greens. Webb supported a large-scale solar project in Virginia while he was employed by the U.S. Department of Defense. The deal is slated to bring in $475 million in gross proceeds for Kentucky-based AppHarvest, including a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction worth $375 million from existing and new investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company, Inclusive Capital, and Novus. He played against Australia on 23 May. Webb: Well, thank you and thank you for having me, and we've got a lot of work to do here, but I can assure you we're head down building and look forward to continuing the conversation another time. Moser: Yeah, I'd tell you, I think you're right. WebJonathan Webb. Most of those employees were hired in the midst of 2020, something that Webb considers a testament to the trust his community has placed in AppHarvest. AppHarvest CEO envisions 'couple-decade journey' after going public For us, we're looking at metrics, how can we be more sustainable? Its easier than ever to find a trustworthy doctor. The other thing is scale. AppHarvest raised $500 million on its balance sheet this year, went public on the Nasdaq, hired 400 people to work in its first facility, and brought its first product, beefsteak tomatoes, to grocery stores including Kroger, Walmart, and Publix. These food companies today are like the cigarette companies 40 years ago. He holds a legal degree from the University of Natal as well as the University of Cape Town. Well, I mean speaking of a publicly traded company, you just released your first-quarter results, and I think this was your first full quarter as a publicly traded company. monitored for quality control 24/7 and harvested robotically. CSC Leasing: Non-dilutive Funding for AgTech Startups, Americas Cultivation Corridor: We Grow AgTech Innovation, As demand for protein grows Sustainable Planet bets on water lentils as a viable alternative to soya, How not to fail in vertical farming: Be on guard for hubris, say Indoor Ag-Con speakers, International Fresh Produce Association launches 2023 Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator program, BREAKING: Perfect Day animal-free dairy patent in US challenged, What is the role of biotech in an ethical food system? Webb founded AppHarvest in 2017, and the company was certified as a B Corp two years later. Again to some of your viewers that aren't aware of Root AI just look them up and take a look at some of those videos. I think it's clear that investors should really be excited for the future of AgTech. You've had fast-food chains, that is one of the biggest risk to a grocer is the paranoia and being terrified of where that product is being grown. Theyre looking at a company and even though its pre-revenue it has all the necessary ingredients to succeed.. You look at California and the Southwest of the U.S., drying up, drought-stricken, flagged by wildfires. The Kentucky-based agriculture tech company, which was founded in 2017, began trading on the Nasdaq in late February 2021 after completing a SPAC merger with Novus Capital Corporation. In order to do that, you have to have rigor. Let's prove to the world what we're doing through results and even that, our first quarterly earnings call today, there's a level of rigor that you're acquired through the public markets. Let's let the consumer of our product also be the buyer in our company. Invest better with The Motley Fool. You have food safety concerns. To make the world smarter, happier, and richer. Get 5 free searches. What's your competitive advantages or something you feel differentiates you from your competition? They have 10% of the world's freshwater. We had 22 meetings and had almost 20 yeses. Very few passed on this deal and we eventually had to cancel meetings.. The private markets can be a part of every solution we have that we're seeing today. We take that long term approach, we don't view things by quarter. Karrie, on the other hand, has not disclosed her salary or income. For example, we use integrated pest management, good pest to kill bad pest. I have a 16 and then going on 15-year-old daughters. Jonathan Webb: AppHarvest, we're based here in Central Appalachia and we're building some of the world's largest controlled environment agricultural facilities. We thought in order to build an organization that's going to be selling to the top grocers. 20years ago it was renewable energy. The deal is slated to bring in $475 million in gross proceeds for Kentucky-based AppHarvest, including a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction You have to get permitting, communities [buy-in], state and federal support, infrastructure, inspections. Moving forward, AppHarvest is focused on bringing its beefsteak and on-the-vine tomatoes to market. How do they plan on achieving that goal? This is the direction in which the world is going, so companies better get on board [laughs] or get out of the way. Earlier this year we did get listed on the Nasdaq. It's therefore worth looking at AppHarvest's earnings history below. Webb is an expert in reconstructive and arthroscopic surgery. We'll talk a little bit about that in just a second. Amid the verdant rolling hills of central Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachian coal country, youll Offers may be subject to change without notice. Webb: Well, I'll start by saying, anyone that is growing good, clean produce, without harsh chemical pesticides, I try to call them my colleagues, not competitors. Visualize our facility in Murray, Kentucky, it's 2.8 million square feet, nearly 50 football fields under-glass. I'm sitting in the heart of coal country right now. Required fields are marked *. You said that we're a technology company working to disrupt agriculture. He actively engages with his followers through his various social media accounts, including Instagram and Twitter. Moser: Well, you said it on the call. One of the things we like to discuss as investors and when we find companies, we find businesses that we like and we want to be owners of. Jonathan Webb poses with celebrity investor Martha Stewart and some of his signature tomatoes. Public asset : 44,698,475 USD. This is a BETA experience. ESG should be at the core of profitability and it should be at the core of building a resilient company. Investors look at that, Peter Halt, AppHarvests newly appointed chief financial officer, told, Step aside, alt-protein: Bioplastics are the real agrifoodtech opportunity, The rise of the reused machines: Germanys E-Farm raises $5.3m Series A. I pay attention to my kids. We can get to 70% of the U.S. in a one-day drive. Jonathan received his bachelors degree from the University of Kentucky. Cell ag experts weigh in, Keep calm and carry on: Navigating the trough of disillusionment for plant-based meat, Its been a very dark week Miyoko Schinner hits back as company accuses her of hatching plot to steal IP, With $3bn in deals, top 10 climate x agrifoodtech startups prove themselves a vital part of climate tech ecosystem, BII eyes full-stack startups, ag marketplaces & embedded financing as it earmarks funds for Africa, Smoke & mirrors, not worth the extra cost: 50 US farmers speak out on carbon markets. As I was listening, there was a quote, you said, "We are farmers and futurists." There are many sources of information on Jonathan Webbs networth. I know that you're not the only one focused on controlled environment agriculture. The history of the world is in many ways the history of technology, and of our reactions to it. We can have all the technological tools in the world, but at the end of the day we have to put people at the center of the equation.. One of AppHarvest's mobile units ready to fight the food fight, outside of AppHarvest's offices in [+] Lexington, Kentucky, If we cant treat people with dignity and respect who put food on our table, where do we think humanity is going to end up? I'm looking forward to being able to find more and more of these AppHarvest products in our grocery stores as we move forward. But being true to our ESG values, we think it is a competitive advantage and going to make us more competitive in the years to come. Use our online form to book an appointment with Dr. Webb. The greenhouse, completed in 2020, yields up to 30 times the crops a traditional farm would, Webb said. Then by the end of the year in 2022, we'll have five facilities operating. Part of it is we're building companies not just for today and not just for the quarterly earnings call today, we're building this company for the next generation. Why locate in Appalachia? I think they certainly will be. Since joining HFW in 2004, Mr. Webb has specialized in P&I and FD&D for ship owners. I graduated from the University of Kentucky. Moser: Yeah. Her estimated net worth is more than $15 million. To access all the content for free, please sign up by entering your email. One of AppHarvest's Crop Care Specialists operates a tomato-picking robot. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Thats why AI scares people, we know tech can be used just as coldly as anything else. He is a senior partner in the shipping litigation practice group, focusing on hull insurance claims, charter party disputes, and dry shipping issues. I go directly into the facility and talk to entry-level employees and people sweeping the floors. I'm really excited to have you all as a recommendation in our service and hopefully, our members are too after talking with you today. PIPE deals effectively allow institutional investors to buy larger quantities of public company stock, typically at a discount to public market prices. That lowers transportation costs by 75%, allowing AppHarvest's fresher produce to better compete against low-cost foreign imports. Thank you for accessing our content on the Topio Networks Market Intelligence Center. But really its water and food first. The actor regularly posts photos and videos of himself, as well as engaging with his fans. We pay every employee at AppHarvest a living wage. We'll talk a little bit about your quarterly results here in a minute because I want to get into that, but one of the things that stood out to me in the earnings call. The Great Resignation has not affected AppHarvest, because people who were leaving companies were leaving worthless companies that added no value to society, or were destroying society, Webb said. WebFounder & CEO, AppHarvest Kentucky native and University of Kentucky graduate Jonathan Webb is turning his dream of a high-tech farming hub in Appalachia into reality with AppHarvest. AppHarvest has invested in a 2.76million-square-foot greenhouse in Morehead (Ky.) to help meet this goal. I watch them, I watch their friends, the things that they care about. Do the hard work to create shareholder value now while also looking out for shareholders two decades from now, Webb said is his credo. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. People are becoming more and more aware of where they get stuff and for people that question how quickly a sector can transition, I have a lot of friends that worked in the coal industry. Webb grew up in Kentucky, and founded AppHarvest in 2017 after years in the solar development industry, based in New York. Now, we want to turn this region into an area of the country that's known for sustainable food production, but beyond just loving the place, I'm from Kentucky, beyond just loving this area, we can get to three quarters of the U.S. on a day drive. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*. Vance, and politicians of both parties, Jonathan left Washington and came home to Kentucky, where he now works tirelessly to make the eastern part of the state the AgTech capital of America. In 1985, he joined Bristol Rugby and won the John Player Cup. Typically, you would do 40 to 60 meetings to get a couple of investors. They ask themselves, Did we help five people today? www.vbprofiles.com is now www.topionetworks.com. Despite the off quarter, Webb has much to celebrate. The nonprofit organization he founded is still in operation today, and he continues to serve as Board Chair. But I wanted to ask you before we do, the Root AI acquisition. Same platform but with new and improved features. He studied history and economics at the University of Cape Town, and obtained a Bachelor of Laws and post-graduate diploma in maritime law from the University of Natal. That's because of our inefficient systems in the supply chain. His Twitter account is one of the most popular on the social network. Webbs England career totaled 67 points, breaking Hodgkinsons 60-point record. Never miss a story: Follow your favorite topics and authors to get a personalized email with the journalism that matters most to you. Below, we look at some of his most popular tweets. Which is important, because AppHarvest employs well over 300 people in its Morehead facility alone. We've been able, very fortunate, a very talented team, MIT team out of Boston that has a proven track record and great products that we've integrated them fully into the AppHarvest team. I asked on a call earlier today, well, have you had issues hiring people? The SPAC opportunity, let you, I think, become a publicly traded company maybe sooner than you really felt like you needed to. I think that's going to be something that just continues to get into the public's mind. Not only picking, pruning, harvesting, being able to actually get the tomato off the vine, and ultimately, shipped out, but also the predictive analytics that we can use. Tomatoes will be the first fruit rolling out of AppHarvest's soon-to-launch facility in Morehead, Kentucky. Yes, today, we met our quarterly earnings projection, we hit our guidance, but we're making the hard investments and spending the hard time to set an organization up that's going to thrive 10 and 20 years from now. $157M Today's Change (-7.84%) -$0.08 Current Price $0.94 Price as of March 1, 2023, 1:16 p.m. Founder & CEO at AppHarvest. AppHarvest which raised $28 million in its Series C round in August is launching what it describes as the worlds largest greenhouse later this year, consisting of a 2.76 million square foot facility in Morehead, Kentucky. Our job at AppHarvest, we need to make sure that we're keeping prices at a fair, good place where we're at today. 95% of a fruit and vegetable is water. If I'm a grocer and I'm saying U.S.-grown in a controlled environment we solve for all that. This year alone, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US, collectively raising around $36.2 billion as of last month. A SPAC is formed with the sole purpose of raising capital through an IPO in order to acquire an existing privately-held company and take it public. Later, in 1993, he relocated to the United Kingdom, where he completed his LLM. Again, for their CEO, for their team to say to them not just about money, we can have more impact at scale with AppHarvest and achieve our mission and achieve our goals by working together. I was really excited to be able to recommend it after all of the work I had done on the business, learning more about it, listening to you in your passion regarding this company, I think it would be beneficial for our members, for our listeners to hear it from your own words as the founder, as the CEO of AppHarvest. Jonathan Webb, CEO of agricultural technology and indoor farming startup AppHarvest, wants investors and founders alike to know that he doesnt struggle to balance purpose and profit; if a company loses track of the former, its only a matter of time until it loses the latter. We've been very fortunate and humbled that the Root AI team is fully a part of the AppHarvest team building robotics that's operating on AI, collecting data. AppHarvest raised over $475 million in a public IPO, but it is not over. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close. Webb is from Kentucky, where 16% of residents are We have a phenomenal team of sustainability experts. Other AppHarvest investors include TV cook Martha Stewart, VC veteran Peter Thiel, ValueAct Capitals Spring Fund, Revolutions Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Equilibrium Capital, and Narya the new VC firm co-founded by JD Vance, author of best-selling Appalachian memoir Hillbilly Elegy. Jonathan Webb currently follows over 1 million people. Again, the private markets get a very bad rap socially. People at large tech companies question what theyre actually building. What is AppHarvest to you? Part of it is that building big stuff fast in the US is very hard. He was made a Fellow of the British Association of Surgery on the Knee (BASK), and has since taught many international and national athletes in sports medicine. Jonathan Webb was born on 24 August 1963, in London, England. We are about to plant our first crop in a 60-acre, controlled environment, chemical-free farm. That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Very excited about the Root AI transaction. Webb doesnt mince words on the specifics; the most valued companies in 100 years, he said, will be the ones that allow humanity to survive. He names a few: electronic vehicle manufacturers, renewable energy companies. in August is launching what it describes as the worlds largest greenhouse later this year, consisting of a 2.76 million square foot facility in Morehead, Kentucky. That's not the conversation at all. The project aimed to help achieve an Obama-era goal of ensuring the militarys hundreds of installations develop resilient on-site power generation and receive 20% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025. Going down, scanning the plant, pest, is there a disease, brightness? We're building these facilities here where we can access markets and get to about three-quarters of the U.S. on a day drive. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn. With a 19% stake, CEO Jonathan Webb is the largest shareholder. In its Nov. 7 filing, AppHarvest reported net losses of $83 million for the first nine months of the year and net sales of $10 million, with an accumulated deficit of $270 million. We're farmers, we are growing fruits and vegetables, and we're utilizing sunlight, we're utilizing rainwater. But the journey hasnt been without pitfalls. Making the world smarter, happier, and richer. All rights reserved. Webb, a former rugby player, has a wealth experience and is now helping players return to the sport they love. Theyre looking for purpose in their life; theyre looking for companies like us.. "For us, at AppHarvest, this isn't just about a company. We'll head down here and then I would start or I would end with what I started with. One, our geographic location. We're selling to Kroger, we're selling in fast food chains like Wendy's. Webb made a second appearance for England, and reached the final. Other AppHarvest investors include TV cook Martha Stewart, VC veteran Peter Thiel, We are about to plant our first crop in a 60-acre, controlled environment, chemical-free farm. Jeff Ubben, Inclusive Capital Partners founder and AppHarvest investor, and Jonathan Webb, AppHarvest CEO, join 'Closing Bell' to discuss what makes AppHarvest Investors look at that, Peter Halt, AppHarvests newly appointed chief financial officer, told AFN. For young people, we've invested heavily in high school education here in this region and part of it is, we're not just building facilities, we're building an ecosystem and part of that is change the narrative that farming is simply outdoors and on a tractor, we very much respect American farmers, we have great respect for the four-season farmer that's putting food on our table but we have to get young people to think, the average age of the American farmer is about 60 years old, and so for us by investing in high schools, it's teaching young people you're operating a farm with an iPhone and iPad using industrial sensors, with robotics operating on AI. I love your long-term focus. My answer to that is always; sustainability is profitability. I know you're busy. David and Tom just revealed what they believe are theten best stocks for investors to buy right now and Walmart wasn't one of them! We could've raised capital privately on the balance sheet and kept building. What makes AppHarvest so unique? Project Access, Inc. was founded by Mr. Webb in 1999. I mean, all of the stuff that you just talked about really does matter. A full transcript follows the video. AppHarvest is recovering from a challenging third quarter, in which it reported a net loss of over $17 million; Webb attributes it to hyper-growth. Director recently sold US$216k worth of stock Nov 24 AppHarvest, Inc. He also received his medical license from Minnesota. Before founding AppHarvest, Jonathan worked with the U.S. Department of Defense on the largest solar project in the Southeastern United States. He scored 296 points for England and played in two Rugby World Cups including the 1991 final. Clearly, the younger generation is coming up, sustainability matters, better food matters. The company is building some of the largest indoor farms in the world, combining conventional agricultural techniques with todays technology to grow non-GMO, chemical-free produce to be. "It's hard to be the one that's looking two decades down the road while thinking of the here and now.". Every year, he gives a lecture to students enrolled in a post-graduate shipping LLM program. You mentioned your children. His fund's based in DC, we had them as early investors. The president and CEO, Paul Mastronardi said, "We want every AppHarvest tomato they can grow. AppHarvest is a unique and compelling investment opportunity that is redefining American agriculture by improving access for all to fresh non-GMO produce, growing more with fewer resources, and creating an agtech hub from within Appalachia, Novus chairman Bob Laikin said in a statement. We can also do it by returning investors to our shareholders. Jonathan Webb is an actor with a large following on Twitter. St John Greek Orthodox Church Easter Schedule, 7 Residential Solar Maintenance Errors and How to Avoid Them, 4 Errors with Kitchen Renovations and How to Avoid Them, An Informative Guide to Livestock Transportation, A Tool That You Need If You are Into Live Stream. And because of the work they are doing, those companies will be able to hire the brightest people, despite resignation trends. By being able to have robotics and AI they can have more real-time information. Everybody has full healthcare. But to our investors the question and I got this on the roadshow, I'm in this to make money, great. In the back of his mind, he wondered what he could do to help. Its the single largest LED installation in the United States despite using constant passive solar, waters its plants using recycled rainwater, employs an integrated pest management system to avoid any pesticides, has a 30x higher production yield than traditional open field agriculture, and has the ever so modest goal of transforming the future of agriculture. Get the latest news and research from AFN & AgFunder in your inbox. Webb: We could not be more excited. I was very fortunate. We're focused on bringing that production back from Mexico that has been shifted outside of the U.S. and bring that back into the U.S. in a controlled environment. Is that drought going to impact yield and you don't end up being able to get product to the grocery store? According to AppHarvest's earnings report released Feb. 24, the company had net sales of $9.1 million and net loss of of $166.2 million in 2021. Even though you entered at such a young stage of your business, You essentially were pre-revenue coming into the public markets, and now, you're just getting that started. Webb is a consistent presence at the companys flagship greenhouse in Morehead. On Twitter, the actor shares his personal experiences with his followers. Just wondering if you could share some of the highlights, some of the things you're proud of in regard to this earnings release, and your excitement here for the year to come. Is there any one thing or is it a collection of many things? Growing up in Appalachia, Jonathan Webb watched the slow decline of the coal industry firsthand. That might sound straight from science fiction, but AppHarvests CTO Josh Lessing, who designed many of these universal harvesting systems says we only think that because farming has been so slow to innovate. We have one farm right now thats 2.8 million square feet. That greenhouse is just the proof of conceptAppHarvest has broken ground on two more that will be just as impressive. No one else in America is doing something at that scale. AppHarvest. I mean I'm glad you keyed on the fact this is a global situation, it's a global issue. A Kentucky native and University of Kentucky graduate, Jonathan Webb is turning his dream of a high-tech farming hub in Appalachia into reality with AppHarvest. Jonathan Webb grew up in Kentucky and has been committed to developing sustainable projects from Central Appalachia.