Food Waste Fighter Apeel Hits $2 Billion Mark With Cash Boost

(Bloomberg) -- Apeel Sciences Inc. doubled its valuation to over $2 billion after raising $250 million to speed up its bid to eliminate global food rot.

Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte led the Series E round, putting total funds at more than $635 million, California-based Apeel said in a statement. 

The closely held startup seeks to ramp up efforts to stop food waste, including in homes, as more consumers order produce online amid the pandemic. The latest cash will be used in part to expand Apeel’s supply networks and for potential acquisitions, Chief Executive Officer James Rogers said. As far as taking the firm public is concerned, that’s not a focus right now.

“The amount of innovation that’s going to be required in order to fix the food system -- or repair it to a place that’s going to be able to feed everyone and not destroy the planet at the same time -- that’s a very tall order,” Rogers said in an interview. The CEO declined to comment on revenue or profitability. 

READ MORE: Oprah-Backed Apeel Wants to Help Grocers Peer Into Produce 

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