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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. But then what have we done with Root AI? Jonathan Webb is the Founder and CEO of AppHarvest, a company that combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology to address Well, you need water you need food, and you need energy. We need to change the profits versus purpose narrative; purpose drives profit and, ultimately, is what makes an organization durable and resilient for decades to come, Webb told Fortune. Europe, Menlo Park, China), Where the person is located (e.g. $157M Today's Change (-7.84%) -$0.08 Current Price $0.94 Price as of March 1, 2023, 1:16 p.m. Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services. He often sleeps in an RV outside the construction site of its second facility. Moser: That's exciting. 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. Look at how many times in the last few years you've had leafy greens yanked off store shelves. We're farmers, we are growing fruits and vegetables, and we're utilizing sunlight, we're utilizing rainwater. Sometimes, it can even get us a few steps closer to saving he world. 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! Our job at AppHarvest, we need to make sure that we're keeping prices at a fair, good place where we're at today. 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. 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. No one else in America is doing something at that scale. But I wanted to ask you before we do, the Root AI acquisition. How do you feel about coming public a lot earlier than you probably would've normally? There's a level of rigor that comes with that, and so for us, the SPAC was just a vehicle. On this week's episode of Industry Focus: Wildcard, host Jason Moser chats with AppHarvest (APPH) founder and CEO Jonathan Webb about the growing opportunity in the agtech space, what makes AppHarvest unique, his vision of the future of farming, and much more. While living in Washington D.C. developing sustainable energy farms, Jonathan researched another type of farming the Netherlands and its high-tech greenhouses that in a single acre yield as much as 10 outdoor acres and virtually eliminate the use of chemicals. I was very fortunate. 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. You have to get permitting, communities [buy-in], state and federal support, infrastructure, inspections. AppHarvest CEO envisions 'couple-decade journey' after going public WebJonathan Webb. Copyright 2023 Surperformance. I think that's going to be something that just continues to get into the public's mind. If I'm a grocer and I'm saying U.S.-grown in a controlled environment we solve for all that. His military experience allows him to leverage private capital for his projects. The private markets don't need to be a part of the problem, but we can't just be quarterly earnings focused. AppHarvest 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. We dont have two planets though, so Webb got creative. Despite IPOs last year having the worst returns in a decade, Webb said he believed 2021 was an important time for the company to go public and stood by the decision to take the company's mission "directly to the Street" and to receive the "rigor of Wall Street early," which he claimed will only make the company "stronger in the long run.". Those are always famous last words as we move into some disruptive phase. A specialist in knee surgery, Jonathan Webb was a rugby union fullback for the English national team from 1987 to 1993. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. It feels like this is something that really is just getting some traction here. 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. With a 19% stake, CEO Jonathan Webb is the largest shareholder. When youre building tech for techs sake, you start to question what youre doing. You have illegal chemical pesticides where the EPA cannot track the chemicals being used on these farms in Mexico. Jonathan Webb: AppHarvest, we're based here in Central Appalachia and we're building some of the world's largest controlled environment agricultural facilities. When people and robots work together, its actually more productive than robots alone or people alone. On a traditional farm, there are a seemingly infinite number of tasks to do at any given moment, so adding some computers to make it more efficient doesnt mean that human farmers will be anywhere near obsolete any time soon. I encourage anyone to go out there Google Root AI and go check out the videos of what some of this stuff does. Jonathan Webb, AppHarvest Inc: Profile and Biography I cant say this was the exact plan but what accelerated all of this was Covid-19, AppHarvest CEO Jonathan Webb told AFN. My competition in Mexico, you have people getting paid $5 a day. Were investing heavily I'd tell you, we go through tomatoes, handover, [] in my house alone, I'm sure. AppHarvest Below, we look at some of his most popular tweets. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Webb was raised in a white-bread, wealthy family. Did we help them reach their goals? The human spirit is willing to do a lot. The applied technology company is developing and operating some of the worlds largest high-tech indoor farms. Get stock recommendations, portfolio guidance, and more from The Motley Fool's premium services. He has over 100 civil and criminal jury trials and has represented clients in counties across Georgia. We've moved most of our fruit and vegetable production down to Mexico and we're importing and shipping in 2,000 miles. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your bedroom should be a serene place for you to feel rested and rejuvenated. I mean, I think that kind of speaks for itself. We have high demand for U.S.-grown and pesticide-free produce already, and when you combine that with the taste, color, and freshness of the AppHarvest model, on top of their social mission, it's driving our customers to ask for more." This commitment, at $10 per share, values the company at $1 billion. Its easier than ever to find a trustworthy doctor. CEOs can get lazy and only worry about the last 90 days; thats easy. All of our water is captured on our roof. WebJonathan Webb, the CEO of AppHarvest, says water scarcity is a growing national security concern as a heatwave continues to wreak havoc on the West Coast. But for us, it's not a back-and-forth, it's not OK, well, I'm going to invest in an ESG company and I'm going to sacrifice profitability. Theyre designed to be safe around people. Non-planned trade are trades that We're going to be headquartered in Central Appalachia, execution at scale here in the U.S. but this is a global problem that we've gotten phone calls from around the world about how and when we can take our solution and go elsewhere. The Art of Self Meditation: What Are the Benefits? Webb is from Kentucky, where 16% of residents are "The public market needs to have a robust category of companies that are building stuff that matters," he stressed. "You look at renewable energy 20 years ago, electric vehicles 10 years ago, if we want to get CEA to be institutional at scale, not only in households with consumers, you really need that rigor of the public markets and that attention of the public markets to help institutionalize an industry," he said. We look at them over the course of time, years, and hopefully, decades we can be a part of that journey with you all. But its confident in its approach. Jonathan Webb Net Worth Webb, a former rugby player, has a wealth experience and is now helping players return to the sport they love. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. There are many sources of information on Jonathan Webbs networth. I don't know that we're going to have enough time, but let's just start first and foremost this is one of our most recent recommendations in our service. 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. He is a senior partner in the shipping litigation practice group, focusing on hull insurance claims, charter party disputes, and dry shipping issues. Jonathan strives to work alongside the hard-working men and women of Eastern Kentucky and build an inclusive economy for the future. 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 Running AppHarvest this way definitely creates extra workthe company even has facilitators who help employees navigate unexpected life events that might prevent them from coming to workbut its work Webb considers essential. Consumers are pushing back. Although his net worth is impressive, its important that you remember that he doesnt have to act alone to be wealthy. You may opt-out by. That's, for us, again, there's a piece where we need to be very close to the product and that's we're optimizing for the plant. In the latter, Webb was the only English player to score in the game. AppHarvest: Transforming The Future Of Agtech, And Maybe The 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. At one point, we were thinking of putting up a billboard in front of several large tech company offices saying, Come build tech that matters, Webb said. I did want to know here because I saw this in the earnings release and I just thought it was one of those quotes that stood out to me from Mastronardi, your distributor. Webb founded AppHarvest in 2017, and the company was certified as a B Corp two years later. We believe controlled environment agriculture is the third wave of sustainable infrastructure. The last thing I would say to that is whether or not we want to do it or not, the world is changing and regulators are approaching back. Webb was named a World Rugby Council RFU representative in 2016. 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. We thought in order to build an organization that's going to be selling to the top grocers. Is that drought going to impact yield and you don't end up being able to get product to the grocery store? Investors Dig Into AppHarvest | The Motley Fool - Nasdaq 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. Jonathan Webb, a Maryland attorney, has experience in criminal defense and DUI/DWI defense. "For us, being transparent with not only the consumer, but having that transparency of a public company as we build a large global food company, we think the long-term benefits are great.". Jonathan Webb, Founder & CEO, AppHarvest But if you look at the current food system today, it's high fructose corn syrup, it's sugary food that has low nutrient density. Who were the most active food and agriculture technology venture capital firms in 2022. Its service leadership; our team does not work for me, I work for our team., To that effect, hes imparted a lesson to each of his team members: Every day, help five people. If you look at the largest grocers in the U.S., we're selling to Kroger, Walmart, Publix, and we're selling to Wendy's. He has also held roles in movies and television series. Which is important, because AppHarvest employs well over 300 people in its Morehead facility alone. Webb is a consistent presence at the companys flagship greenhouse in Morehead. By being able to have robotics and AI they can have more real-time information. I want to figure out what I can do, as CEO, to ensure everyone has the resources to succeed. WebThe combined company will be led by Jonathan Webb, AppHarvests Founder & Chief Executive Officer. 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. 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. This helped the Army reach its goal of 20% renewable energy by 2025. AppHarvest CEO envisions 'couple-decade journey' after going public It's the workforce that we're going to use to grow the organization. WebJonathan Webb grew up in Kentucky and has been committed to developing sustainable projects from Central Appalachia. The system it uses reportedly reduces water usage by 90% compared to traditional open-field agriculture, while also eliminating runoff. Location: Pikeville, KY. Add to My Lists. WebInside is a tightly controlled environment that uses 90% less water than open-field agriculture and only rainwater to produce crop yields up to 30 times that of traditional Webb made a second appearance for England, and reached the final. We take that long term approach, we don't view things by quarter. Again, if you look at the U.S. right now, this is a USDA statistic, nearly 40% of fresh fruit and vegetables end up in a landfill. ET More on the future of agriculture and vertical farming innovator I made the point at one point in regard to AppHarvest. He represented his country in 33 Test matches and played for Bristol and Bath. His grandmother grew up in Whitley County, where a coal mining accident killed his great-grandfather. He was born into a medical family. Similarly, she owns yachts and private planes and serves on the board of the Women Golf Club Foundation. But I dont think thats adding value to the company, or looking out for our shareholders, he said. I know you're busy. Of course, the future is what really matters. A Bull Market Is Coming: 3 Reasons to Buy Costco Stock, 3 Top Stocks to Buy Now to Prepare for a Bull Market, 2 Exceptional Growth Stocks to Own in 2023, 2 No-Brainer Stocks to Buy During a Stock Market Plunge, 3 Robinhood Stocks to Buy and Hold Forever, 2 Reasons to Avoid a Roth 401(k) for Your Retirement Savings, Want $1 Million in Retirement? The show also discusses the benefits of Martha Stewart being on their board and how they plan get their products onto shelves. For us, this year, it's less about the dollars and more about hitting our targets and we were able to hit our Q1 guidance and ramp up our facility to, later on, this year by Q4, we'll be at full capacity in Q3 and Q4, selling tomatoes out of this facility in more Kentucky. The president and CEO, Paul Mastronardi said, "We want every AppHarvest tomato they can grow. 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.. AppHarvest Let's let the consumer of our product also be the buyer in our company. We've had one of our wettest decades on state record. Thanks as always to Tim Sparks for putting the show together for us. He scored 296 points for England and played in two Rugby World Cups including the 1991 final. Since then, AppHarvest shares have plunged 70%. By locating within Appalachia, the company is also less than a days drive to more than two-thirds of the U.S. population. Webb grew up in Kentucky, and founded AppHarvest in 2017 after years in the solar development industry, based in New York. MOREHEAD, Ky., Feb. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AppHarvest, Inc. (NASDAQ: APPH, APPHW), a sustainable food company, public benefit corporation and Certified B Corp building some of the worlds largest high-tech indoor farms to grow affordable, nutritious fruits and vegetables at scale while providing good jobs in If we're going to be working with the largest players in the world, then we need to be in the big leagues, and the only way to do that is to be a publicly traded company. Webb founded it in 2017 in his native Kentucky; it became a certified B Corp two years later. All rights reserved. A universal harvester robot at AppHarvest's Morehead, Kentucky greenhouse, AppHarvests crops are monitored for quality control 24/7 and harvested robotically, a labor-saving advancement that lets the staff treat farming almost like a manufacturing process. There won't be one automotive company transporting the world. How do they plan on achieving that goal? Jonathan Webb currently follows over 1 million people. Project Access offers ESL/ESL classes, after school programs, and computer literacy. WebAppharvest (: ) is owned by 29.32% institutional shareholders, 30.67% Appharvest 40.01% retail investors. If people remember that ice storm back in February, our facility operated, ramping up into full capacity with no issues in the middle of a global pandemic and the middle of an ice storm. Jeff Ubben on investing in AppHarvest - CNBC According to Webb, going public has helped the company focus on the big picture. Jonathan received his bachelors degree from the University of Kentucky. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice| Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information| Ad Choices Jonathan Webb, CEO, AppHarvest: AgTech Farming for Our It's so cool to think about what you guys are doing there. Theyre looking for purpose in their life; theyre looking for companies like us.. Then we have to remember this isn't just a U.S. problem we're trying to solve. Jonathan Webb is a dual-qualified lawyer. Then we'll be able to give that data over to the grocer in more real-time. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. I asked on a call earlier today, well, have you had issues hiring people? Jonathan has a Bachelors degree from the University of Kentucky in Business. We always talk about investing for the future because that's really what investing is all about. I go directly into the facility and talk to entry-level employees and people sweeping the floors. His fund's based in DC, we had them as early investors. monitored for quality control 24/7 and harvested robotically. I love your long-term focus. Webbs England career totaled 67 points, breaking Hodgkinsons 60-point record. Project Access, Inc. was founded by Mr. Webb in 1999. But in order to prove to our investors and prove to our shareholders and broader stakeholders, for us, it's about meeting our targets, and I've tried to say AppHarvest, we're in the business of delivering on our promises. 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. Clearly, the younger generation is coming up, sustainability matters, better food matters. Same platform but with new and improved features. On today's show, AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb talks about AgTech (agriculture tech), the third wave of sustainable infrastructure. 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.