Fifth Season
Pittsburgh, United States · Operator: Fifth Season (formerly Robotany)
Overview
A Pittsburgh robotics-driven vertical-farming startup; raised $35M and planned Columbus expansion but abruptly shut down in autumn 2022.
Citizen participation
Robotics-driven company operation; no public participation.
Operating model
Commercial model using robotics to cut labor in an indoor vertical farm, mass-producing salad greens for retail.
Impact
Laid off about 100 staff and closed, filing for bankruptcy in November. Even with automation the indoor economics did not work and its expansion collapsed. Lesson: automation alone cannot offset high energy and equipment costs.
Crops
- leafy greens
Scale
5,574 m² — Closed October 2022 and filed bankruptcy November 2022; ~60,000 sq ft (≈5,574 sqm) Braddock facility
Sources（2）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
Related cases
The Plant Chicago
USChicago, United States
A circular food hub in a former meat plant, housing indoor aquaponic farms and artisanal food tenants.
ourworld.unu.edu+1
Farm.One
USNew York (Brooklyn), United States
A Brooklyn indoor vertical farm growing rare herbs and edible flowers, opened to the public via classes and tours.
prnewswire.com+1
AppHarvest
USMorehead, United States
A large-scale Kentucky indoor-farming startup; opened a 60-acre flagship greenhouse in 2020 but went from Wall Street darling to bankrupt in six years.
agfundernews.com+1
Kalera
USOrlando, United States
An Orlando-based vertical-farming leader with farms in Orlando, Houston, Atlanta and Denver; filed Chapter 11 in April 2023.
thepacker.com+1