Coffee with Maan Said, CEO of Crysp Farms: Said (LinkedIn) is the CEO and founder of Dubai-based vertical farming startup Crysp Farms, a company that builds and operates vertical hydroponic farms on-site for customers including hotels, hospitals, restaurants, and supermarkets. Crysp’s “farming as a service” business model provides customers with up to 130 crop varieties of fresh local produce on demand, with farms producing year-round using 90% less water and 99% less land than traditional agriculture.

Crysp Farms partnered with agritech veteran Alesca Technologies back in November to deploy 500AI-powered vertical farms across MENA over the next five years. The agreement targets major hospitality providers, including Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, and Jumeirah Group, with plans to expand to other sectors in the region. The company secured USD 2.25 mn in a pre-series A funding round earlier this year to expand its presence regionally across Saudi Arabia, Seychelles and the Maldives.

We sat down with Said to discuss what sets Crysp apart from competitors, the future of agritech, and the company’s expansion plans.

Edited excerpts of our conversation follow.

Enterprise: How did the idea for the business come about?

Maan Said: The Crysp journey began about four and a half years ago in Dubai when I realized that the true potential of this technology could be unlocked by bringing it directly to customers. This led to the idea of setting up farms at customer locations. The core concept is to provide immediate, fresh produce using on-site farms for maximum efficiency.

A typical Crysp farm consists of multiple levels where various crops are grown. Water circulates throughout the system, and unused water is returned to a central tank. This tank has sensors that monitor the water's electrical conductivity, which measures its nutrient levels. The system adjusts the water by adding necessary nutrients, ensuring it’s optimized for plant growth. The temperature inside the farm is also regulated; it changes based on the time of day to maintain an efficient growing environment. The farm is contained within a controlled space, typically a 10-meter by 5-meter box, which holds the equivalent of one acre (4 sqkm) of crops.

E: What makes you stand apart from competitors in the same field?

MS: One key distinction is our partnership with Alesca Life, which provides advanced technology for efficient farm operations. Their high-tech systems use artificial intelligence to monitor data, analyze results, and continuously improve the farming process.

Another major differentiator is our decentralized approach. Unlike other companies that build large, centralized farms, we create bespoke farms tailored to individual properties. We work closely with hotel chefs to grow precisely the crops they want, delivering fresh produce directly to them. This personalized “farming as a service” model is unique in the industry.

E: Tell us more about the use of AI in Crysp operations.

MS: AI is crucial in optimizing our farming by analyzing various variables influencing crop yields, such as temperature, humidity, nutrients, water temperature, and CO2 levels. Since our farms currently grow up to 30-40 varieties, each with different needs, AI analyzes the data to find the optimal conditions for all crops in a specific farm. This involves processing large amounts of data to adjust factors like temperature or nutrient formulas, which can significantly affect growth. AI also allows us to find the optimal conditions for each of our farms since every site is unique, making it an invaluable tool for maximizing yield.

E: Any expansion plans on the horizon?

MS: We’ll begin our operations in the Saudi market in 1Q of 2025. We also already secured contracts in the Maldives. The Maldives is not arid like Saudi Arabia or the UAE, but it faces its own challenges, particularly a lack of available land for farming. Much of their produce is imported and suffers from spoilage due to poor transportation. By establishing farms directly on the islands at resorts, we can improve efficiency and reduce supply chain issues.

E: How do you choose which markets to enter when exploring potential?

MS:Generally, we target markets based on their preferences and needs. At the moment, our primary expansion focus is the GCC and North Africa, as well as island nations like the Maldives, Seychelles, and possibly Mauritius. We believe reaching 500 farms in this region is highly achievable. We are also working on expansions into Egypt, Qatar, and Bahrain. There is also some interest from Europe-based customers, with hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton expressing interest in our services.

E: What challenges have you faced in scaling your operations?

MS:One of the main challenges we face is managing multiple locations rather than a single, centralized farm. Unlike a large central farm where everything can be observed in one place, we have farms spread out across different locations. To address this, we rely on remote monitoring to oversee, analyze, and adjust conditions at any farm worldwide from Dubai. This ability to alter conditions in real time has been crucial.

Another challenge is optimizing the growth of 30+ crop varieties within a small farm footprint. We need to ensure that we deliver the exact quantity of fresh produce daily, as we harvest and deliver every day. This requires perfecting our methodology to meet customer demands consistently.

E: Where do you see vertical farming in general growing over the next few years?

MS: Vertical farming is evolving, shifting towards diversifying the crops grown beyond the typical leafy greens. We offer 130 varieties, primarily leafy greens, but we're now developing crops like strawberries and mushrooms, with a launch planned for 2Q next year. As the industry becomes more efficient and technology costs decrease, vertical farming will gain more traction and experience growth. Vertical farming is ideal for regions where specific crops aren't commonly grown or are needed but not widely available. However, it should be viewed as a supplement to traditional farming, not a replacement.

E: What’s on the cards in 2025 in terms of fundraising?

MS: We are preparing for our Series A financing round. This larger round will support our upcoming major expansion, which is set to begin in 1Q of next year. Our goal is to raise funds through institutional investors to fuel significant growth. We expect it to be two to three times the size of the last round, if not more.