Participated · Seed · Dec 2021

Serve Robotics develops and operates autonomous delivery robots designed to travel on sidewalks in urban settings. The company’s operations require recurring expenditures such as maintenance, batteries, connectivity, remote supervision and coordination with merchants and users. Public reporting links a $200 million financing to sustaining those operational needs, though specifics about financial performance, fleet size, cities of operation and revenue were not disclosed. The firm faces technical, regulatory and public-acceptance challenges common to sidewalk delivery robotics, including navigation among pedestrians and local rules. Because detailed metrics and the structure of the reported funding are unavailable, the company’s precise financial position and near-term plans beyond maintaining service continuity remain unclear.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2016

KeyMe builds and operates self-service smart kiosks that perform a variety of locksmith services, including duplication of brass keys and advanced electronic keys such as vehicle transponder and RFID keys. The kiosks leverage robotics and artificial intelligence to deliver convenient, accurate, and secure key creation. In addition to kiosks, KeyMe offers traditional locksmith services (lockouts, re-keys, complex installations and custom jobs) through KeyMe Locksmiths. The company currently serves over 10 million customers annually from a footprint of more than 3,000 kiosk locations across over 72 retailers, reaching consumers in 49 states. KeyMe says it is pursuing expanded services, international growth potential, and additional consumer and home services to build a trusted brand in the locksmith industry. The company has raised more than $150 million to date from institutional and strategic investors. KeyMe operates a network of smart kiosks that provide residential, commercial and vehicle key duplication services, and is led by CEO Greg Marsh. The kiosks copy keys in under 30 seconds and are deployed in over 2,300 locations across leading retailers in 46 states, including Acme, Albertsons, AutoZone, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kroger, Rite Aid and 7‑Eleven. Its iOS and Android apps enable customers to scan and save a digital copy of their key for on‑demand access. The company intends to use newly raised funds to expand kiosk presence in both new and existing retailers and to develop additional service offerings. KeyMe raised $50M in growth financing from funds managed by BlackRock; other investors include Battery Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Questmark Partners, River Park Ventures and White Star Capital. The kiosk footprint and mobile key‑backup capabilities support its retail partnerships and service expansion plans. KeyMe operates a network of smart kiosks that copy and share keys and a free iOS and Android app that lets customers save keys in the cloud and print them at kiosks. Its kiosks are available in major U.S. retailers including Bed, Bath & Beyond, Rite Aid, 7‑Eleven, Albertsons, Kmart, Mall of America, Safeway and Sears and can copy keys in under 30 seconds. The company was founded in 2012 by CEO Greg Marsh and is based in New York, NY. KeyMe intends to use proceeds to expand its kiosk footprint, adding on average more than 50 new kiosks per week and targeting more than 3,000 next‑generation kiosks in retailers by 2017. At the time of the report the company had raised a total of $70M to date. KeyMe builds tech-enabled retail kiosks that scan and duplicate physical keys, including the majority of automotive keys and transponder cloning. Its kiosks can produce lower-cost fob-style smart keys priced roughly $20–$60. Customers can save digitized versions of their keys to the KeyMe cloud so replacements can be printed without the original key present. The company is pursuing aggressive expansion to meet retailer demand for tens of thousands of new kiosks. KeyMe says it aims to disrupt a claimed $7.5 billion-per-year key-copying industry by offering convenience and lower prices. Recent fundraising activity supports that growth plan and wider kiosk deployment. KeyMe provides digital key scanning and duplication through mobile apps and in‑store kiosks, shipping copies or printing them instantly. It handles regular house keys and car keys with transponder chips. The company uses AI and neural networks to classify key blanks, which it says yields single‑digit error rates versus 15–20% for traditional locksmiths. Kiosk access to saved keys requires a fingerprint scan for security. KeyMe previously raised $2.3M in seed funding and $7.8M in a Series A; it has now completed a $20M Series B. The company currently operates about 100 in‑store kiosks and plans to deploy 1,000 more this year and 10,000 over the next 36 months, with retail partners including Sears, Kmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Rite Aid, Lowe’s, Albertsons, Ahold USA and 7‑Eleven.

Participated · Series B · Aug 2013

Belly offers a tablet-based loyalty platform that supplies merchants with the hardware (notably iPads) and a customizable app to manage customer rewards and analytics. The product emphasizes easy updates, a snappy user interface, and merchant-facing data to help small businesses track customer behavior. The company is active in 6,500 locations across 18 U.S. markets and employs just over 100 staffers. Leadership says Belly is on track to be profitable without further funding. Going forward, Belly plans to expand its geographical reach and pursue larger enterprise customers. The company positions itself to compete with both smaller loyalty startups and larger tech players making moves in the space. Belly provides a plug-and-play customer loyalty and rewards platform for local merchants, centered on an in-store iPad check-in, a universal Belly card, and iPhone/Android apps. Merchants pay a monthly subscription for unlimited Belly cards, in-store marketing materials, and secure access to customer data including points, redemptions, foot traffic, and card usage patterns. The platform enables merchants to send push notifications and tailored promotions, and Belly trains staff to encourage participation. Merchants can customize rewards and Belly emphasizes unique, brand-aligned experiences rather than one-size-fits-all punch-card programs. Since launching in August 2011, Belly reports over 200,000 active users, more than 800,000 check-ins, and partnerships with roughly 1,400 merchants, adding 100+ new businesses each week; it is live in Chicago, Austin, Milwaukee, Madison, Washington D.C., Phoenix, New York, and Boston. Planned product and operational priorities include expanding the sales team and market footprint, transitioning apps to HTML5, UI and speed improvements, and future POS integrations to capture transaction data. Belly provides a plug-and-play rewards platform for local merchants centered on an in-store iPad POS, mobile apps and a universal Belly card tied to customer emails. Merchants pay a monthly subscription for unlimited Belly cards, in-store marketing materials and secure access to customer data showing sales, points, redemptions and foot-traffic insights. Consumers check in via the merchant's Belly iPad or mobile apps to accumulate points toward personalized rewards, and Belly works with businesses to create unique, local incentives. Since its pilot launch Belly has been installed at 285 Chicago businesses, is adding nearly 50 new businesses per week, and has more than 18,000 users, 50,000 check-ins and roughly 500 new users per day. The company plans to expand nationally in the next few months and is exploring integrations with point-of-sale systems to capture transaction data. Belly competes with LevelUp, Perka, PerkVille, PunchTab and other loyalty providers.