Participated · Series B · May 2023

Neat Burger develops ethical, sustainable plant-based restaurant food centered on a patty made from mung beans, quinoa and chickpeas. The company emphasizes health and sustainability and sells its product through company restaurants and a growing B2B vertical. It has formed partnerships with hospitality groups and businesses to help them achieve net zero ambitions. Neat Burger has expanded internationally, opening a New York City location and launching its first franchise in Dubai in October 2022, with further restaurant openings planned in Italy and the Middle East. The company plans to use new funding to support a US expansion with rollouts planned in major cities. Neat Burger was co-founded by Tommaso Chiabra and Zack Bishti.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2023

Babylon Micro-Farms produces the Galleri, a large $15,000 wall appliance that can grow more than 50 plant varieties and—on its own—produce up to 24 pounds of leafy greens per month. The company pairs the hardware with BabylonIQ, a proprietary platform that automatically controls growing conditions, schedules planting and harvesting, reorders supplies, and provides real-time plant-health analysis and predictive maintenance for distributed fleets. Babylon is focused on food-service verticals such as healthcare, education and corporate customers, and also offers a hardware-as-a-service subscription option for buyers who do not want to purchase a system outright. The startup is based in Richmond, Virginia, manufactures the Galleri locally, and operates with a lean team of 35. The company announced an $8 million Series A and said the funds will accelerate production, marketing and expansion of its install base. Babylon also received a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant and previously raised roughly $3 million in a seed round almost two years earlier. Babylon Micro-Farms offers a cloud-based, plug-and-play hydroponics system for indoor farming operations. The company’s 15-square-foot miniature farms can, the company says, grow as much produce as 2,000 square feet of outdoor cropland and are remotely managed via a platform that controls light, water, and nutrients. Babylon deploys a fleet of remotely managed vertical farms and offers two-year lease contracts so users can test markets without long-term commitments. The startup plans to use the new capital to fund nationwide expansion and accelerate market penetration through national distribution. Financially, Babylon raised an initial $2.3 million seed in January 2020 led by CIT GAP Funds and Plug and Play Ventures and has now closed an additional $3.0 million seed round. CEO Alexander Olesen said 2021 is on track for accelerating growth as the company focuses on deploying its indoor farming service. Babylon Micro-Farms offers a 32” x 66” x 96” plug-and-play hydroponics machine paired with cloud-based software that remotely manages nutrients, irrigation, and LED lighting. The system supports 227 seed varieties and automatically dispenses water, nutrients, and light while collecting growth data to optimize performance and reduce labor costs. The company leases machines on two-year contracts with fixed monthly fees, handling installation and supplying growing inputs. Babylon claims each 15 square-foot micro-farm can produce as much as 2,000 square feet of outdoor farmland. To date it has focused on product development and pilot deployments with customers including UVA, Dominion Energy, local restaurants, schools, and country clubs. Co-founders Alexander Olesen and Grant Smith plan regional expansion, expecting thousands of installations across North America within five years and sales outside Virginia beginning early next year.