Originally from Kentucky, Webb is dedicated to sustainable projects in Central Appalachia. It was clear that their work culture is infused with a pioneering mentality, and that Webb feels strongly about keeping that culture consistent as the company expands. Again, the private markets get a very bad rap socially. Webb is from Kentucky, where 16% of residents are Jonathan Webb, CEO, AppHarvest: AgTech Farming for Our A full transcript follows the video. Thank you for your continued support. Jonathan Webb, a Maryland attorney, has experience in criminal defense and DUI/DWI defense. I was hoping maybe we could talk a little bit about that idea that you're farmers and futurists. Instead of just being able to tell a grocer 24-hours in advance here's the quality of product and here's when it will be shipped, with robotics going down the rows scanning the plants, we'll be able to get to days out and weeks out of being able to predict the yield, predict the quality, give more information to the grocer on when that product is going to be coming. But if you look at the world, China and India account for 40% of the world's population. Webb made a second appearance for England, and reached the final. Which is important, because AppHarvest employs well over 300 people in its Morehead facility alone. No one else in America is doing something at that scale. 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. Talk a little bit about what ESG means to you and some of the things that you've done, because corporately you set your business up to be able to account for some of that transparency and whatnot. ", As a CEO, Webb admitted that this focus on the long-term outlook has not been easy to prove to Wall Street, especially when compared to those who are "selling a worthless product that's not good for people and not good for planet and arguably questionable for shareholders. The human spirit is willing to do a lot. There's a level of rigor that comes with that, and so for us, the SPAC was just a vehicle. We have a lot of work to do ahead of us over the years to come. But I wonder, is there something to your mind? I made the point at one point in regard to AppHarvest. Let's let the consumer of our product also be the buyer in our company. Get 5 free searches. AppHarvest Were building important stuff with long-standing value, so the Great Resignation has actually helped us acquire talent.. It sounds like there's a lot of potential there. Prior to founding AppHarvest, Jonathan supported the Executive Director of the Army Office of Energy Initiatives to help meet the White House goal of supplying 20% of the Department of Defenses electricity usage from renewable AppHarvest (APPH) CEO Jonathan Webb said the company has its eyes on the long term as it looks to "institutionalize" controlled environment agriculture (CEA). He actively engages with his followers through his various social media accounts, including Instagram and Twitter. He played against Australia on 23 May. 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. Jonathan Webb's Appharvest shares are currently valued at $20.96M. As I was listening, there was a quote, you said, "We are farmers and futurists." That lowers transportation costs by 75%, allowing AppHarvest's fresher produce to better compete against low-cost foreign imports. One, our geographic location. AppHarvest is known for its approach to CEA, which Webb called the "third wave of sustainable infrastructure." I know that you're not the only one focused on controlled environment agriculture. We'll talk a little bit about that in just a second. With that difficult work that in mind, Webb has designed his company to grow as much produce as possible as sustainably as possible. Look at how many times in the last few years you've had leafy greens yanked off store shelves. We want to be at Kroger. 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. "And we don't think we could do that if we weren't in the public markets.". This is the direction in which the world is going, so companies better get on board [laughs] or get out of the way. monitored for quality control 24/7 and harvested robotically. He has become a prominent social media star. Who were the most active food and agriculture technology venture capital firms in 2022. Visualize this, down the rows of our facility, we have a robust that's going to take thousands of photos of a tomato plant. Although his net worth is impressive, its important that you remember that he doesnt have to act alone to be wealthy. My background was a part of building some of the largest solar projects in the U.S. David Lee, who joined us from Impossible Foods, joined impossible foods five years ago as their CFO and COO raised them nearly over $1 billion in the last five years and turned them into what was a boutique idea, into a mass-market product on store shelves. Even with the help of AI, farm work at AppHarvest is still hard, manual labor. Are you going to have drought? He has a particular interest in knee surgery and sports medicine. It is a non-profit organization that provides education and social services to low-income residents living in low-income apartments. Fresh Take: A Make-Or-Break Food Trade Show, Inside The Food Labor Movement: An Update From Starbucks Front Lines, Its The Gourmet Toast Driving Expansion At Toastique, Fungi-Based Protein Company Meati Launches Scientific Advisory Board To Support Scale-Up, Nutrition Research, City Saucery Takes Pride In Its Ugly Tomato Sauces, By Helping The Ukrainian Community In Manhattan, Veselka Earns A James Beard Nomination For Outstanding Restaurant, French Wine Region Bourgogne Should No Longer Be Translated To Burgundy. He has successfully completed over 200 operations using the Mako machine. 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. What's your competitive advantages or something you feel differentiates you from your competition? We thought in order to build an organization that's going to be selling to the top grocers. AppHarvest, which went public in February in an IPO that brought it $475 million in gross proceeds, is an ambitious venture. In order to do that, you have to have rigor. Moser: I guess you're saying, and a lot of us would agree, you can't have your cake and eat it too. I'm Jason Moser, thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week. 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. "Greenwashing" Doesn't Work: Jonathan Webb, Founder & CEO, I want to know what the problems are from them, not just our executive team. He is a senior partner in the shipping litigation practice group, focusing on hull insurance claims, charter party disputes, and dry shipping issues. 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. But I wanted to ask you before we do, the Root AI acquisition. The High Stakes of the Roundup Cancer Lawsuit: Why Billions of Dollars are on the Line, 5 Ways to Get Money for Investment Property. 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, Founder & CEO, AppHarvest WebJonathan Webb grew up in Kentucky and has been committed to developing sustainable projects from Central Appalachia. The estimated value when the deal closes will be about a billion dollars for the company. Jonathan Webb currently follows over 1 million people. You have to judge yourself internally. Moving forward, AppHarvest is focused on bringing its beefsteak and on-the-vine tomatoes to market. The greenhouse will cost $97 million and span 60 acres. 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. As part of that, in order to bring trust and transparency to agriculture, you have to be a public company. Investors look at that, Peter Halt, AppHarvests newly appointed chief financial officer, told AFN. He is also becoming more involved with green shipping and is a council member of the London Shipping Law Centre. Yes, we're using nature for what it's good. Then we have to remember this isn't just a U.S. problem we're trying to solve. We're one of four companies that are publicly traded that have both of those as a company. People at large tech companies question what theyre actually building. Copyright 2023 Surperformance. Kentucky has been experiencing record amounts of rainfall in recent years, so for Webb, the location was obvious. AppHarvest The nonprofit organization he founded is still in operation today, and he continues to serve as Board Chair. This company has plans to open two additional indoor farms in Kentucky and has already announced partnerships with the Dutch government and multiple universities to make Appalachia a hub for the agtech industry. 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. The actor regularly posts photos and videos of himself, as well as engaging with his fans. Did we help them reach their goals? We love DC, but we don't want to just be selling to the high-end restaurants in DC. According to Webb, going public has helped the company focus on the big picture. Were investing heavily in our future, so were spending heavily today, he said. If I were an investor, Id want my CEO on the ground with the team, not just in an office tower, he said. I watch them, I watch their friends, the things that they care about. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. His final international was against Ireland in March 1993. To get started investing, check out our quick-start guide to investing in stocks. These food companies today are like the cigarette companies 40 years ago. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. But then what have we done with Root AI? But to our investors the question and I got this on the roadshow, I'm in this to make money, great. Europe, Menlo Park, China), Where the person is located (e.g. Is there a benefit? He represented his country in 33 Test matches and played for Bristol and Bath. It's about getting the industry to turn the corner at scale globally," Webb said. What makes AppHarvest so unique? AppHarvest is an indoor farming company, so has massive greenhouses 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. FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. He noted that in traditional agriculture, most everything happens incrementally, But now is not a time for incrementalism the thing that needs to be added to that recipe is folks [like Webb] that want to be aggressive in getting us ready for a world where its hard to grow crops.. Webb: Well, the last great technological revolution in American farming is really when the tractor was introduced. You have food safety concerns. We hit our Q1 guidance, $2.3 million in revenue. We use bees to pollinate our plans. I encourage anyone to go out there Google Root AI and go check out the videos of what some of this stuff does. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. Then we'll be able to give that data over to the grocer in more real-time. Webb founded AppHarvest in 2017, and the company was certified as a B Corp two years later. Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman at the 2022 SXSW Conference, 3 big things in investing you might have missed this week, UPDATE 1-North Korea says US causing international arms control collapse, EU releases funds, prepares aid flight for eastern Congo, Rheinmetall in talks on building tank factory in Ukraine - report, Ukraine Latest: Metsola Urges More Sanctions Pressure on Russia. On today's show, AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb talks about AgTech (agriculture tech), the third wave of sustainable infrastructure. You have to get permitting, communities [buy-in], state and federal support, infrastructure, inspections. Webb grew up in Kentucky, and founded AppHarvest in 2017 after years in the solar development industry, based in New York. CEOs can get lazy and only worry about the last 90 days; thats easy. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Flipboard, and LinkedIn. We can get to 70% of the U.S. in a one-day drive. Director recently sold US$216k worth of stock Nov 24 AppHarvest, Inc. But if you look at all the problems in the agriculture system, this industry really solves most of those problems. For the fourth quarter "For us, at AppHarvest, this isn't just about a company. We're farmers, we are growing fruits and vegetables, and we're utilizing sunlight, we're utilizing rainwater. 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. You have climate disruption. With a 19% stake, CEO Jonathan Webb is the largest shareholder. There has been nothing more impactful on farming since that time, and now, it's AI robotics and using data to make decisions. WebJonathan Mark Webb net worth is $800,000 Jonathan Mark Webb Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Jonathan Webb is an actor, known for Graffiti Bridge (1990), In How do they plan on achieving that goal? I want to talk with you about in regard to AppHarvest. Jeff Ubben on investing in AppHarvest - CNBC 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. Well, you need water you need food, and you need energy. Webb is a consistent presence at the companys flagship greenhouse in Morehead. To access all the content for free, please sign up by entering your email. Maintaining that inclusive work culture, especially since he works in agriculture, is incredibly important to Webb, who aims to do everything from a place of empathy and considers his employees to be his first customers. We talk about how, When youre building tech for techs sake, you start to question what youre doing. AppHarvest knows its far from being the only player in the CEA game. We've had one of our wettest decades on state record. The companys first greenhouse will span 60 acres and open in 2020 in Morehead, Ky.The greenhouse will operate entirely on rainwater using a 10-acre retention pond, reducing water usage by 80% compared to a typical farm. "It's hard to be the one that's looking two decades down the road while thinking of the here and now.". Jonathan Webb Net Worth WebThe following charts show the stock performance of securities subsequent to each open-market, non-planned trade made by Jonathan Webb. Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Jonathan about the growing opportunity in the AgTech space. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Webb left for college, eventually pursuing a career in renewables at the DOE, a space where he felt he could be part of the solution. But the economic devastation in his home state still bothered him. 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. That greenhouse is just the proof of conceptAppHarvest has broken ground on two more that will be just as impressive. *Average returns of all recommendations since inception. We're selling to Kroger, we're selling in fast food chains like Wendy's. We arent burning through cash with pointless R&D when we can buy incredible technologies over in the Netherlands, Webb says. Moser: That's exciting. We're building infrastructure in an area of the country where we're having record amounts of rainfall, and if you look at the climate maps, we continue to get wetter. What is AppHarvest to you? Dr. Jonathan Webb, a specialist knee surgeon at Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital, is the doctor. This year alone, more than 50 SPACs have been formed in the US, collectively raising around $36.2 billion as of last month. We have to figure out how to grow a lot more food with a lot less resources and we can use that by utilizing technology and infrastructure to grow fruit and vegetables with 90% less water and get about 30 times yield per acre. 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. I mean, I think that kind of speaks for itself. We just want to be one of those and we're cognizant that there's going to be plenty of large players. "We have the capital we need and we're focused on building and operating, and just head down on execution," Webb said. By being able to have robotics and AI they can have more real-time information. Required fields are marked *. 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. In the same year, he scored his second try after just 23 seconds. What are you trying to accomplish? There won't be one automotive company transporting the world. You said that we're a technology company working to disrupt agriculture. You have illegal chemical pesticides where the EPA cannot track the chemicals being used on these farms in Mexico. I mean, all of the stuff that you just talked about really does matter. Again, for us, it's about keeping our head down, growing good fruit and vegetables. Because our services are focused on technology, 5G connectivity, and all of the different benefits we're going to get from that. AppHarvest to go public, seeks $475m at $1bn valuation - AFN How do you feel about coming public a lot earlier than you probably would've normally? All Rights Reserved. We dont talk about this at all in the US. I'm looking forward to being able to find more and more of these AppHarvest products in our grocery stores as we move forward. 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. Non-planned trade are trades that 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. 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. I think that's going to be something that just continues to get into the public's mind. We dont have two planets though, so Webb got creative. Ten years ago, Tesla made electric vehicles popular in the mainstream, and right now, it's controlled environment agriculture. WebJonathan Webb, AppHarvest Inc: Profile and Biography - Bloomberg Markets Live Now Bloomberg TV+ Leaders with Lacqua:Mark Read WPP CEO Bloomberg Radio Meet the Theyre looking at a company and even though its pre-revenue it has all the necessary ingredients to succeed.. Later, in 1993, he relocated to the United Kingdom, where he completed his LLM. Now, his company AppHarvest (the name is a play on both Appalachia and the high-tech nature of what they do), operates a sixty acre greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky that grows hydroponic tomatoes up to the ceiling. Is there any one thing or is it a collection of many things? He has over 100 civil and criminal jury trials and has represented clients in counties across Georgia. Very excited about the Root AI transaction. In 1985, he joined Bristol Rugby and won the John Player Cup. We had 22 meetings and had almost 20 yeses. Very few passed on this deal and we eventually had to cancel meetings., Webb describes the SPAC transaction and PIPE financing experience as absolutely phenomenal.. Location: Pikeville, KY. Add to My Lists. My answer to that is always; sustainability is profitability. A specialist in knee surgery, Jonathan Webb was a rugby union fullback for the English national team from 1987 to 1993. We're in that classic scenario of demand exceeding supply. Age : 37. AppHarvest And because of the work they are doing, those companies will be able to hire the brightest people, despite resignation trends. Terms & Conditions. 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. As founder and CEO of AppHarvest, Ive been listening to a podcast called The Future of Farming and Investing, where Jonathan Webb discusses how AppHarvest has built a three-million-square-foot indoor farm, twice as large as Amazons largest distribution center. An Interview With AppHarvest Founder and CEO Jonathan Webb Jonathan Webb is the Founder and CEO of AppHarvest, a company that combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology to address key issues including improving access for all to nutritious food, farming more sustainably, building a homegrown foods supply, and more.
Boston Advantage Premier Roster,
Pemberton Township Police Chief,
Tiki Beach Bar And Grill Menu,
Teacup Shih Tzu Puppies For Sale In Oklahoma,
Ge Ultrafresh Washer And Dryer Set,
Articles J