Mark Oshima (Courtesy Babylon)
A Scott’s Addition-based indoor farming company has a new leader at the helm.
Babylon Micro-Farms announced last week that Marc Oshima has been appointed its new CEO.
Oshima brings years of experience in indoor farming to Babylon, which sells automated, indoor vertical farms. He was previously a co-founder and chief marketing officer of AeroFarms, an indoor agriculture company founded in the Finger Lakes area of New York in 2004 that is now headquartered in Danville, Virginia. He also served as board chair for the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Alliance.
Oshima succeeds former Babylon CEO Marc Oosterhuis, who spent six years with the company as mentor, investor, COO and most recently, chief executive. Oosterhuis announced his stepping down in February.
Oshima told BizSense he is not aware of the reasoning behind Oosterhuis’s stepping down, but that Oosterhuis has remained in an advisory role during the transition.
Oshima said he first got exposed to Babylon through its membership in the CEA Alliance. He said in its search for a new CEO, Babylon looked for a candidate with experience in indoor farming and scaling companies, which aligned with his background.
The company has installed its micro-farms in 40 states and five countries and Oshima said he’s looking forward to continued growth.
Babylon last year unveiled a small, $6,500 farming unit aimed at K-12 schools called the STEM Garden. It’s now in over 100 K-12 schools and universities and Oshima hopes for Babylon’s footprint in schools to grow on his watch.
That growth also includes continued work with New York-based Green Bronx Machine, which integrates programming on indoor farming in K-12 schools. Green Bronx Machine has expanded across country lines, including significant work in the United Arab Emirates.
Green Bronx Machine founder Stephen Ritz serves as a brand ambassador for Babylon, promoting its STEM Garden.
“When we talk about being in five countries today, we see a lot of growth opportunities into these global markets,” Oshima said. “We’re just scratching the surface on what the total available market is.”
Oshima said he’s excited to get started with Babylon’s 40-person team that he said is united around the mission to provide access to quality, simplified crop production.
“You need that, because we’re writing this new playbook in agriculture,” he said. “With that kind of commitment, we’ll be able to write the next chapter.”
The new Babylon Micro-Farms Galleri Lite. (Courtesy Babylon)
Oshima comes aboard following the recent unveiling of Babylon’s newest product, the Galleri Lite Micro-Farm, a new iteration of its flagship Galleri Micro-Farm – an automated indoor vertical farm that the company introduced in late May 2022. The micro-farms can hold plants from over 45 varieties like leafy greens, herbs, microgreens and flowers.
Galleri Lite is about $10,000 per unit, down from the roughly $15,000-per-unit pricing of the original Galleri. As of mid-February, Babylon was taking orders for the Galleri Lite and was set to ship by the end of the month.
Babylon’s Galleri clients include American Airlines, Ikea, Dartmouth College, University of Virginia and other organizations, per the company’s website.
Babylon was founded in Charlottesville in 2017 by Alexander Olesen and Graham Smith, who remain with the company as a board member and CTO, respectively.
Babylon relocated to its current headquarters at 3409 Carlton St. in 2021. Manufacturing of Babylon products is also done at the Carlton Street headquarters, Oshima said.
As of mid-February, the company has secured around $20 million in equity funding and between $2 million and $4 million in grant funding, Olesen said.
Mark Oshima (Courtesy Babylon)
A Scott’s Addition-based indoor farming company has a new leader at the helm.
Babylon Micro-Farms announced last week that Marc Oshima has been appointed its new CEO.
Oshima brings years of experience in indoor farming to Babylon, which sells automated, indoor vertical farms. He was previously a co-founder and chief marketing officer of AeroFarms, an indoor agriculture company founded in the Finger Lakes area of New York in 2004 that is now headquartered in Danville, Virginia. He also served as board chair for the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Alliance.
Oshima succeeds former Babylon CEO Marc Oosterhuis, who spent six years with the company as mentor, investor, COO and most recently, chief executive. Oosterhuis announced his stepping down in February.
Oshima told BizSense he is not aware of the reasoning behind Oosterhuis’s stepping down, but that Oosterhuis has remained in an advisory role during the transition.
Oshima said he first got exposed to Babylon through its membership in the CEA Alliance. He said in its search for a new CEO, Babylon looked for a candidate with experience in indoor farming and scaling companies, which aligned with his background.
The company has installed its micro-farms in 40 states and five countries and Oshima said he’s looking forward to continued growth.
Babylon last year unveiled a small, $6,500 farming unit aimed at K-12 schools called the STEM Garden. It’s now in over 100 K-12 schools and universities and Oshima hopes for Babylon’s footprint in schools to grow on his watch.
That growth also includes continued work with New York-based Green Bronx Machine, which integrates programming on indoor farming in K-12 schools. Green Bronx Machine has expanded across country lines, including significant work in the United Arab Emirates.
Green Bronx Machine founder Stephen Ritz serves as a brand ambassador for Babylon, promoting its STEM Garden.
“When we talk about being in five countries today, we see a lot of growth opportunities into these global markets,” Oshima said. “We’re just scratching the surface on what the total available market is.”
Oshima said he’s excited to get started with Babylon’s 40-person team that he said is united around the mission to provide access to quality, simplified crop production.
“You need that, because we’re writing this new playbook in agriculture,” he said. “With that kind of commitment, we’ll be able to write the next chapter.”
The new Babylon Micro-Farms Galleri Lite. (Courtesy Babylon)
Oshima comes aboard following the recent unveiling of Babylon’s newest product, the Galleri Lite Micro-Farm, a new iteration of its flagship Galleri Micro-Farm – an automated indoor vertical farm that the company introduced in late May 2022. The micro-farms can hold plants from over 45 varieties like leafy greens, herbs, microgreens and flowers.
Galleri Lite is about $10,000 per unit, down from the roughly $15,000-per-unit pricing of the original Galleri. As of mid-February, Babylon was taking orders for the Galleri Lite and was set to ship by the end of the month.
Babylon’s Galleri clients include American Airlines, Ikea, Dartmouth College, University of Virginia and other organizations, per the company’s website.
Babylon was founded in Charlottesville in 2017 by Alexander Olesen and Graham Smith, who remain with the company as a board member and CTO, respectively.
Babylon relocated to its current headquarters at 3409 Carlton St. in 2021. Manufacturing of Babylon products is also done at the Carlton Street headquarters, Oshima said.
As of mid-February, the company has secured around $20 million in equity funding and between $2 million and $4 million in grant funding, Olesen said.
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