The Venture Codex

Led · Seed · Dec 2022

Founded in 2017, Automotus has built a computer-vision platform that lets municipalities and airports track curb activity, generate data analytics, and automate payments for commercial vehicles, ride-hail drivers, and delivery fleets. The system, already deployed in dozens of U.S. markets, supplies real-time insights that cities have used to redesign parking policies, as demonstrated by a deployment in Lincoln, Nebraska. By addressing the surge in ride-hailing and e-commerce deliveries, the company aims to make streets safer, more efficient, and more sustainable. Automotus’ business model centers on selling its software and camera hardware to public-sector agencies managing increasingly congested curb space. The company plans to use its newest capital to deepen product capabilities, expand into additional markets, and bolster customer support. Including the latest equity infusion, Automotus has raised $26 million in equity funding to date, alongside the newly secured credit line.

Participated · Series B · Dec 2021

Full Harvest operates a B2B produce marketplace that digitizes the produce supply chain, using a spot marketplace, matching algorithm and visibility tools to connect buyers and sellers of surplus and imperfect crops. The platform includes a third-party audit and verification process to standardize specifications and reduce rejection rates to 1–2% versus a 10% industry average. The company takes a percentage of every transaction on its marketplace; it tripled revenue between 2020 and 2021 and has grown from about eight employees in 2018 to 35. Full Harvest has expanded geographically, including into Canada, and has hit a milestone of 50 million pounds sold. With new capital the company plans to invest in technology development, triple the size of its technology and product teams in 2022, expand its North American footprint, pursue logistics-technology partnerships and advance data and market-insights offerings such as availability, pricing, specifications, quality and forecasting. Full Harvest is a San Francisco-based B2B marketplace that connects large-scale vegetable and fruit farms with commercial buyers such as retail juice franchises to sell excess or imperfect produce. The company targets vegetable farms greater than 1,000 acres and fruit farms larger than 100 acres and has developed quality standards to standardize transactions. Full Harvest currently brokers roughly 40 items and focuses on foundational, large-volume produce categories purchased by food and beverage companies. Founder Christine Moseley, a solo female founder with logistics and food-industry experience, started the company after witnessing large on-farm waste. The marketplace aims to reduce food waste while providing incremental revenue to farmers and lower-priced inputs to buyers. The company is scaling its operations following a new Series A raise. Full Harvest, founded by Christine Moseley, operates a marketplace that connects farmers with food makers who will purchase fruit and vegetables rejected by grocers for cosmetic reasons. The company targets buyers such as juice, soup and sauce makers, baby food companies, frozen food producers and pet food manufacturers to create demand for so-called "ugly" produce. Moseley conceived the idea while running business development for Organic Avenue after seeing farmers discard usable leaves and produce to meet retail cosmetic standards. Full Harvest competes with regional food nonprofits like Borderlands Food Bank and startups such as Spoiler Alert that also help divert produce from waste. The startup recently raised $2 million in seed funding and plans to use the proceeds to add features to its platform, expand its team from about 10 to roughly 20 employees, and increase outreach to food industry buyers.