Lighting giant Osram, Munich, Germany, said it has acquired a stake in Munich-based start-up Agrilution, a company that has developed a smart indoor growing box, the plantCube, that serves as a salad, vegetable and herb garden for the home. Osram holds a strategic minority interest in the company via its venture capital arm Fluxunit.
The company’s product makes it possible for users without any gardening expertise to increase yield due to a specially optimized LED technology and other innovations. “Thanks to its innovative business model, agrilution is the perfect fit for Osram. And Osram, with its lighting and horticultural expertise, can help to improve and enhance agrilution,” said Ulrich Eisele, head of Osram's Fluxunit.
The plantCube product already uses some of Osram’s specially developed lighting solutions that can stimulate and manage plant growth and are designed for cultivating plants in greenhouses or indoor spaces. The smart home appliance identifies the seeds that have been planted and provides an optimal growing environment by automatically regulating temperature, watering and lighting conditions.
Fluxunit, the venture capital arm of Osram, supports and develops in-house and external start-ups. Tengelmann Ventures and Kraut Capital also hold a stake in Agrilution.