Challenges in Vertical Farming
High energy costs and the lack of crop varieties specifically bred for vertical farming limit its scalability and profitability. These barriers restrict innovation and prevent vertical farming from reaching its full potential.
Energy Costs
Vertical farming requires significant energy inputs, making cost-efficiency a major challenge.
Few Crops
Only a few crops dominate vertical farming, restricting diversity and innovation.
Limited varieties
The industry struggles with a shortage of seed varieties optimized for controlled environments.
Empowering Growth Through Innovation
Anthea develops open-source seeds optimized for vertical farming, addressing the need for specialized crop varieties. Our solutions enable farmers to overcome these challenges and create sustainable, efficient farming systems.
Breeding for Efficiency
Our seed varieties are specifically bred to thrive in controlled environments, optimizing yields while addressing energy efficiency challenges.
Introducing High Value Crops
By focusing on high-demand crops like tomatoes, we bring greater economic value and diversity to vertical farming operations.
Open-Source for Innovation
Our open-source seeds ensure accessible, adaptable solutions for farmers, enabling greater variety and resilience in vertical farming.

OUR PRODUCTS
Revolutionizing Farming with Open-Source Innovation
Anthea offers seedling and open-source seeds bred specifically for vertical farming, combining resilience, adaptability, and high-quality yields. Our products empower farmers with innovative, sustainable solutions, promoting biodiversity and collaborative agriculture.

Seedlings
Fast-track your growing cycle with our specialized tomato seedlings developed specifically for vertical farming environments. By starting with our robust young plants, you’ll achieve more harvest cycles per year while minimizing the common risks associated with early plant development. Each seedling is cultivated under precise conditions to ensure consistent quality and immediate productivity upon transplanting.
Seeds
Premium tomato seed varieties meticulously selected and bred for optimal performance in controlled environment agriculture. Our seeds feature enhanced nutritional profiles, space-efficient growth habits, and characteristics specifically optimized for vertical farming success. Each batch undergoes comprehensive testing to ensure exceptional germination rates, disease resistance, and productivity in indoor growing systems.
Open Innovation
Join our collaborative community built around shared knowledge and participatory breeding initiatives. Our bottom-up approach invites growers to actively contribute to tomato variety development through distributed trials, data sharing, and collective decision-making. By democratizing both information and the breeding process itself, we’re creating a system where everyone—from commercial producers to home gardeners—can access, implement, and help evolve our vertical farming techniques while participating in the creation of tomorrow’s tomato varieties.
The People behind the scene
Meet our team
A collective of innovative minds and spirited individuals, committed to bringing their best in a dynamic and supportive workspace.

Rosario Iacono
Founder & CEO
Innovative agronomist and plant scientist merging advanced agricultural technologies with open-source principles to create accessible, sustainable farming solutions. Specializes in developing resource-efficient cultivation methods while freely sharing research findings, genetic resources, and growing protocols with the global farming community. Committed to democratizing agricultural knowledge through collaborative platforms that empower farmers of all scales to implement cutting-edge growing techniques.

Remigio Graziani
Legal Officer/Grant Hunter
A distinguished lawyer affiliated with the University of Bologna, brings his extensive expertise in intellectual property law to his teaching role. His specialized knowledge in European grant applications has made him an invaluable resource for researchers and institutions seeking to secure funding for innovative projects. With a keen interest in open source IP strategies, he champions innovative approaches that balance legal protection with knowledge sharing.
Our Advisors

Laura Cammarisano
Assistant Professor
University of Davis California

Valentina Moltisanti



Supported by

TransFun
Funding our research and
development

Startup Elevator Sachsen Anhalt
Supporting startup growth with tailored mentoring and resources in Life Sciences and Bioeconomy.

Join Our Community
Join a vibrant community of farmers, breeders and tech providers sharing to build the agriculture of the future