Two co-founders for a Richmond-based company offering environmentally friendly indoor farming technologies and techniques have just been named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the category of Social Impact.
Graham Smith and Alexander Olesen founded Babylon Micro-Farms in 2017 while they were students at the University of Virginia as part of a project to provide low-cost micro-farming for food-insecure refugees. The company makes indoor farming units that can be remotely controlled to grow herbs, vegetables, and salad greens. “I am honored to be included in this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list alongside my co-founder,” Olesen said in a statement. “We’ve been building Babylon Micro-Farms together for nearly six years. It’s fantastic to see our work recognized among such an esteemed group of people doing their part to build a more sustainable future.”
“None of this would have been possible without a fantastic team working tirelessly to make Babylon Micro-Farms a reality,” Smith said.
The company relocated from Charlottesville to a newly renovated 7,700-square-foot office on Carlton Street in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition in 2021. The building serves as Babylon’s headquarters and as its research and development facility.
The company calls its product the “easiest to use hydroponic micro-farm” that allows for the year-round growth of fresh produce. It couples its clear glass growing cases with a guided growing app that uses the sensors inside the case to monitor conditions and make adjustments.
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