Elon Musk Brother's 'Smart Farm' Startup Is Shutting Down Locations And Downsizing Staff

Square Roots, the agricultural technology ‘smart farm’ startup co-founded by Kimbal Musk, brother of Elon Musk, earlier this week, announced the closure of most of its locations and laid off most of its staff, according to former employees.

What Happened: The startup, which was established in 2016, has grown to five locations and has raised over $90 million in funding, Business Insider reported.

However, the company has decided to halt production at its locations in Springfield, Ohio, Shepherdsville, Kentucky, and Kenosha, Wisconsin. The only remaining farm will be in Grand Rapids, which will continue to service business partners.

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The exact number of layoffs is unknown, but the company was estimated to have around 198 employees as of June.

“It was framed as a temporary thing, but the layoffs didn’t feel temporary,” a former Grand Rapids worker said.

“It wasn’t like they were saying ‘You guys will be offered your jobs back’ at any point.”

“We’re now operating our controlled climate farms exclusively for our strategic partners — whether that’s to immediately secure the supply of high quality crops, or to explore novel ways of profitably growing high calorie food indoors,” the company told local news.

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