• Salted

  Participated · Series B · Oct 2023

  Salted creates and operates multiple quick-serve restaurant brands and retains ownership of the brands' intellectual property. The company builds and scales concepts that are cap-ex light and designed for delivery and takeout, supported by proprietary restaurant operations software (including image-capture training and ingredient tagging) to ensure consistency. Salted has created six brands since its 2014 founding and currently operates 25 locations across nine states. Management says locations are profitable and are averaging over $1 million in orders per year; overall revenue is described as "growing steadily." The company is expanding both organically and via acquisitions and is close to completing its first acquisition of a Mediterranean-inspired brand, tested at six locations. Leadership plans to hire more staff, invest further in technology, and scale toward "thousands of locations," initially focusing on the U.S. with some international real estate scouting underway. Salted creates digitally native quick-service restaurant brands and has built six brands so far, including moonbowls, Califlower Pizza and lulubowls. It operates locations that each run four to six brands and serves food ranging from Chinese takeout to pizza and salads. The company is operating in seven states with 19 locations today and expects to exceed 50 locations by next year. Salted employs over 200 people and says its locations are collectively profitable, generating between $1 million and $2.5 million in annual sales per location. The company uses proprietary technology and a Salted Analytics product to scale brands while maintaining customer experience and positions itself as a builder of long-lived brands rather than a ghost kitchen. CEO Jeff Appelbaum, who founded the company seven years ago, aims to be “the Yum! Brands for the digital age” and to build the next Chipotle. Salted operates a digital-first, full-stack technology and operations platform designed to scale off-premise QSR brands. Its platform integrates operations, a national supply chain, quality control, and marketing systems tailored for delivery and takeout. The company also built proprietary ‘Intelligent Kitchens’ software that uses data entry and camera technology to monitor order accuracy, production levels, presentation standards, and preparation times. Salted prioritizes data analysis and continuous iteration, analyzing thousands of data points daily and providing real-time feedback to kitchen teams. The platform supports multiple consumer brands — including moonbowls, Califlower Pizza, and lulubowls — all gluten-free with plant-based options, and is live in 17 U.S. locations. Salted plans to use new financing to continue expanding its business reach.

• Cart.com

  Participated · Series C · Jun 2023

  Cart.com provides an end-to-end commerce enablement platform that lets brands such as TOMS Shoes, PacSun, and Janie and Jack sell across digital and omnichannel channels while outsourcing fulfillment, supply-chain operations, and customer experience. Its offering blends enterprise software, predictive analytics, and agentic AI with a scaled U.S. warehouse and logistics infrastructure, giving merchants one system of record from checkout to delivery. The company plans to deepen workflow automation, expand its AI capabilities to autonomously route inventory and reduce shipping times, and continue building out its national fulfillment footprint. Fresh capital will also be directed toward advancing proprietary software and improving operational efficiency. Cart.com emphasizes a path to sustainable, profitable growth rather than purely top-line expansion. Although the company has not disclosed revenue or user metrics, management highlights demonstrable ROI for enterprise customers. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Cart.com views itself as a category-defining commerce and fulfillment platform.

• Lilium

  Participated · Equity · Dec 2022

  Lilium is an advanced air mobility firm that has entered insolvency/bankruptcy. Ambitious Air Mobility Group (AAMG) says it has secured €250 million and access to a further €500 million to restart the company. AAMG reported in a press statement that it and its partners have “great interest” in continuing Lilium’s aircraft... (article truncated). The article does not provide details on the financing instruments, operating metrics, past rounds, founding year, or location. No additional financial terms or participating partner names beyond AAMG and unspecified partners are disclosed in the article. Lilium builds electric air taxis and is described in the article as a Munich-based Lufttaxi manufacturer. The company was founded in 2015 by Daniel Wiegand, Sebastian Born, Patrick Nathen and Matthias Meiner. Lilium recently asked for state aid and has been raising outside capital to support operations. Most recently the company raised $150 million. The article reports a new financing agreement under which Yorkville Advisors can invest up to $150 million on call. That agreement is structured as a Standby Equity Purchase Agreement (SEPA) available until May 2027. Lilium develops an electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet intended for air taxi services. The company is focused on continued aircraft development and expects its first manned flight in the second half of 2024. After flight testing, Lilium expects to fund manufacturing with payments from companies that have committed to purchasing the product. Several purchasers have publicly announced intent to buy sizable fleets, including Heli‑Eastern's planned purchase of 100 Lilium Jets for China, Saudia's planned purchase of 100 jets, and GlobeAir's plan to use 12 jets. Lilium went public via a SPAC in September 2021 and was told in April it could face delisting if its stock price did not maintain a $1 minimum after falling below that threshold for two months. Financially, Lilium has raised $292 million this year to date (including $100 million in early May) and previously raised $119 million in late 2022 and $240 million in 2020. Lilium is developing the Lilium Jet, an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft intended for regional passenger and goods transport. The company aims to decarbonise air travel with a high-capacity, low-noise, zero-operational-emission jet and has announced planned launch networks in Germany, the US, Brazil, and the UK. Lilium intends to achieve a first manned flight of a type-conforming aircraft in the second half of 2024 and says the current capital raise will cover most of the estimated capital required for that milestone. As of March 31 the company held nearly $157.5M in cash, cash equivalents and other financial assets; its share price had fallen about 87% year-over-year and dipped below $1 on March 1, 2023, but surged after the funding announcement. Founded in 2015 by Daniel Wiegand, Sebastian Born, Matthias Meiner and Patrick Nathen, Lilium employs an 800+ team including around 450 aerospace engineers and senior leadership with experience on major aircraft programs. The company also expects substantial pre-delivery payments (PDPs) to contribute to subsequent capital requirements as it continues development. Lilium is developing an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet and building an air taxi service. Its core product is a manned electric taxi jet, and the company plans to commence assembly of the type‑conforming aircraft for the final manned flight test campaign. Lilium intends to reach an agreement with EASA on its Means of Compliance and sign customer agreements with pre-delivery payments as part of commercialization. The company said the new funding will be used to continue operations, advance jet development, and strengthen its balance sheet. Lilium previously raised $240 million in 2020 and is publicly listed (NASDAQ: LILM). Commercial interest includes a reported purchase of 100 jets by Saudia and a plan for GlobeAir to use 12 planes in Southern France and Italy. The company recently appointed Klaus Roewe as CEO.

• Loop

  Participated · Debt Financing · Oct 2022

  Loop develops end-to-end EV charging infrastructure products and turnkey networks for property owners, selling smart, affordable chargers that can be individually metered for shared or multi-unit installations. Its product lineup includes home and workplace chargers plus high-speed DC chargers that compete with networks such as ChargePoint, EVgo and Tesla’s Supercharger network. Loop emphasizes low total cost of ownership and targets property owners as the primary channel to scale charging access across apartments, offices, hotels, retail centers, fleets and municipalities. The company reports having sold more than 7,000 charging stations worldwide through a partner program of over 750 electrical contractors. Loop aims to build a broadly available network of chargers to stay ahead of projected EV rollouts and to make passive charging (at home, at work, on the go) widely accessible. Financially, Loop recently completed a $60 million financing package to accelerate operational growth and network expansion.

• Kitchen United

  Participated · Series C · Jul 2022

  Kitchen United operates a platform combining commercial kitchen space, restaurant-hub technology and streamlined logistics to help foodservice operators enter new markets, grow off-premises revenue and expand delivery areas. Its technology enables customers to order from multiple prepared food and consumer goods brands on the same ticket and with the same delivery driver, synchronized to maximize quality and payload while minimizing time and expense. The company also develops Kitchen United OS, a multi-concept ordering technology platform used by national restaurant brands. Led by CEO Michael Montagano, Kitchen United currently powers approximately 200 operational kitchens across 20 regions. The company plans to increase both its technological and physical presence, with continued focus on Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Texas and other U.S. trade areas. Management intends to use the recent funding to accelerate growth and expand operations. Kitchen United operates commercial kitchen centers that house 10–15 restaurant brands each, providing operators a value-driven, low-risk way to enter new markets and expand delivery areas by removing capital and technology barriers. Launched in 2017 and headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., the company positions itself as a strategic real estate partner for restaurant chains as consumer preference shifts to off-premise dining. Kitchen United handles operations so restaurant brands can focus on food while scaling via shared kitchen infrastructure. The company cites a large addressable market—William Blair estimated U.S. off-premise restaurant sales at $279B in 2018, growing to an expected $402B in 2022. Current locations include Pasadena and Chicago, with upcoming openings in Scottsdale and Austin and additional sites under construction in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other major markets. As part of its growth strategy, Kitchen United plans to enter New York City through a relationship with RXR Realty to open kitchen centers in RXR and other Tri-State properties. The company recently closed a financing round to support expansion into its primary growth markets, including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston. Kitchen United is a virtual-restaurant concept that operates "Kitchen Centers" — converted warehouse, big-box or light-industrial facilities that can house 10–20 restaurants and centralize delivery production. The company aggregates demographic and cuisine-specific demand data to select locations and provide restaurant partners opt-in consumer and operational intelligence to tailor menus, staffing and operations. Kitchen United positions its offering as a lower-cost, lower-risk way for national, regional and local chains and food entrepreneurs to enter new markets and expand off-premise dining. Launched in 2017 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the company says its centers create operational efficiencies and reduce delivery costs while expanding partners' addressable delivery markets. Kitchen United plans to use recent funding to accelerate national growth and to build its real estate, marketing, engineering and operations teams. Leadership brings experience from chains and hospitality companies including Taco Bell, McDonald’s, SBE Entertainment and Wolfgang Puck.

No current team members are available.