LAS VEGAS –Indoor Ag-Con, the largest trade show and conference for the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector, has announced the Day Two keynote for its February 11-12, 2026 event in Las Vegas. Titled “The State of CEA Finance: Capital Flows, Discipline, and Lessons Learned,” the keynote will take place on Thursday, February 12 from 8:00–8:50 AM PST and will feature a fireside chat with two of the most influential voices shaping CEA and agri-food finance: Dave Chen, Co-Founder & CEO of Equilibrium, and David Verbitsky, President & Managing Director of Verbitsky Capital.
As the industry continues to mature following a decade marked by rapid expansion, shifting capital dynamics, and heightened scrutiny on operational performance, this keynote will offer attendees a candid look at the financial landscape influencing CEA today. The conversation will explore:
- How and where capital is moving across the CEA value chain
- How financing discipline has evolved since the sector’s early boom years
- The risks associated with scaling too quickly
- The lessons investors, operators, and suppliers must carry forward to build resilient, profitable businesses
“Finance continues to be one of the most important and closely watched aspects of controlled environment agriculture,” said Brian Sullivan, CEO, Indoor Ag-Con. “Dave and David bring valuable perspective shaped by years of working across the broader food and agriculture investment landscape. We’re pleased to offer attendees a grounded, practical conversation that will help operators and partners navigate the changing financial environment.”
This keynote is part of Indoor Ag-Con’s most comprehensive educational program yet, featuring 11 specialized educational tracks covering vine crops, mushrooms, berries, lettuce & herbs, conventional agriculture, food safety, cannabis, unique approaches, general applications, and more. Attendees will also experience an expo hall showcasing hundreds of CEA technologies and solutions, along with numerous networking opportunities designed to foster meaningful connections and industry-wide collaboration.
Speaker Profiles
Dave Chen, Co-Founder & CEO, Equilibrium
Dave is co-founder and CEO of Equilibrium Capital Group which was founded nearly 18 years ago with the mission to build an institutional asset manager focused on sustainable infrastructure investment strategies that could make a positive impact on our climate challenges. Equilibrium invests in sustainable food & agriculture and carbon transition infrastructure. With offices in San Francisco, Portland, and London, the firm serves a global group of institutional investors.
Dave started his career at Solectron and at McKinsey. He served as Chairman of the Portland Oregon Branch of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank 2005-2012. He was a general partner of OVP Venture Partners and a co-founder of GeoTrust (acquired by VeriSign). He was a board member of HNCS (NASDAQ) 1999-2002, the pioneer in applying neural net technology to deliver application software for real time credit card fraud detection for the banking sector and in healthcare insurance fraud detection, later merged with FICO (NASDAQ:HNCS, now NYSE:FIC). For the past 15 years, he has also been an Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Kellogg School Management at Northwestern University and Director of the Kellogg Impact Investing Program.
David Verbitsky, President & Managing Director, Verbitsky Capital
With more than 15 years of investment banking and entrepreneurial experience, David Verbitsky has advised on over $200B in M&A and financing transactions across the Agriculture & Food industry. His background includes serving as Global Head of Agriculture & Nutrition Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs; Global Head of AgTech & Sustainable Food Investment Banking at Nomura Greentech; and prior roles within Barclays’ Chemicals & Agriculture investment banking team.
David Verbitsky’s experience spans early-stage innovators, family-owned operators, private equity, and large multinationals across the entire Agri-Food value chain. His career also includes venture capital roles, strategic advisory work in agri-food innovation, and operational leadership as CFO of Invaio, an AgTech start-up. He holds an MBA from Rice University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University.
Indoor Ag-Con will announce details of its Opening Morning Keynote—The State of the CEA Industry from the CEA Alliance—in the coming weeks.
ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con has emerged as the largest trade show and conference for vertical farming | greenhouse | controlled environment agriculture (CEA). The event brings together industry professionals from across the globe to explore the latest trends, technologies, and innovations in the CEA sector. Its events are crop-agnostic and touch all sectors of the business, covering produce, legal cannabis | hemp, alternate protein and non-food crops. More information, visit www.indoor.ag
Facts Only
* Indoor Ag-Con will host a Day Two keynote on February 12, 2026.
* The keynote title is “The State of CEA Finance: Capital Flows, Discipline, and Lessons Learned.”
* The session features a fireside chat with Dave Chen (Co-Founder & CEO of Equilibrium) and David Verbitsky (President & Managing Director of Verbitsky Capital).
* The conversation will address capital movement across the CEA value chain, financing discipline evolution, scaling risks, and lessons for business resilience.
* The event includes specialized educational tracks covering vine crops, mushrooms, berries, lettuce & herbs, conventional agriculture, food safety, cannabis, unique approaches, and general applications.
* Dave Chen is the Co-Founder & CEO of Equilibrium Capital Group, focusing on sustainable infrastructure investment in food and agriculture.
* David Verbitsky has experience in investment banking across the Agriculture & Food industry and venture capital roles.
Executive Summary
The Indoor Ag-Con event will feature a Day Two keynote on February 12, 2026, titled “The State of CEA Finance: Capital Flows, Discipline, and Lessons Learned.” The session will be a fireside chat between Dave Chen, Co-Founder & CEO of Equilibrium, and David Verbitsky, President & Managing Director of Verbitsky Capital. The discussion is positioned to explore capital movement across the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) value chain, the evolution of financing discipline, risks associated with rapid scaling, and necessary lessons for building profitable businesses in the sector.
The event includes an extensive educational program featuring eleven specialized tracks covering diverse areas like vine crops, mushrooms, food safety, cannabis, and more, alongside an expo hall showcasing CEA technologies. Speakers bring experience from the broader food and agriculture investment landscape, with Chen's background in institutional asset management and Verbitsky's experience spanning M&A and financing across the Agri-Food industry.
Full Take
The framing of this finance discussion suggests a pivot point for the CEA sector moving from rapid expansion to mature operational realities. The focus on "discipline" and "lessons learned" implies that the initial narrative of boundless growth has likely encountered friction points related to capital allocation and operational execution. The involvement of figures from institutional investment (Chen) and high-level M&A/financing across the value chain (Verbitsky) suggests an attempt to reframe CEA not just as a technological opportunity, but as a mature asset class subject to traditional financial scrutiny.
The implicit pattern here is the industry's movement toward legitimizing its economic standing by adopting established financial language. The juxtaposition of vast technological innovation with the need for financial discipline reveals a tension between the speed of physical scaling and the slower, deliberate mechanics of institutional finance. The real implication lies in whether the promised lessons translate into structural changes within the sector, or if they remain advisory concepts. One must question whether "scaling too quickly" is an external constraint imposed by finance, or an internal behavioral challenge that requires a paradigm shift in how operators define success.
What adjustments must be made to operational metrics to genuinely reflect the asset class status suggested by the speakers' combined experience? What mechanisms exist for ensuring that high-level financial lessons are implemented consistently across disparate physical systems and regulatory environments? Where does the narrative of opportunity end, and the reality of capital constraints begin?
Sentinel — Human
This text reads as well-researched industry news reporting, characterized by detailed biographical information and structured event announcements rather than purely synthetic generation.