Total amount raised
$391.7 Millions
Latest funding date
8/1/2022
Location
Afresh has successfully raised significant funding through multiple rounds, with its latest being a Series B. The company offers an AI-powered platform designed to optimize fresh food management in grocery stores.
Keep reading to explore the intricacies of Afresh's fundraising journey and the investors backing this innovative platform.
What Is Afresh?
Afresh, founded in April 2017, is headquartered in Oakland, California. The company was established by Matt Schwartz, Nathan Fenner, and Volodymyr Kuleshov.
Afresh specializes in AI-powered software designed to optimize fresh food management in grocery stores. Their platform uses machine learning to forecast demand, manage orders, and reduce waste.
Currently, Afresh employs between 51 and 100 people, focusing on enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of fresh food supply chains.
How Much Funding Has Afresh Raised?
- Seed Round
- Amount Raised: $1.7M
- Date: March 2018
- Lead Investors: Baseline Ventures
- Valuation at Round: Not publicly disclosed
- Motivation Behind the Round: To develop the initial version of their AI-powered platform and validate the market need for fresh food management solutions.
- Series A Round
- Amount Raised: $6.1M
- Date: April 2019
- Lead Investors: Innovation Endeavors
- Valuation at Round: Not publicly disclosed
- Motivation Behind the Round: To expand the platform's capabilities and begin scaling operations to serve more grocery stores.
- Series A Round
- Amount Raised: $12M
- Date: July 2020
- Lead Investors: Innovation Endeavors
- Valuation at Round: Not publicly disclosed
- Motivation Behind the Round: To enhance the platform's machine learning algorithms and expand the customer base.
- Series A Round
- Amount Raised: $13M
- Date: November 2020
- Lead Investors: Food Retail Ventures
- Valuation at Round: Not publicly disclosed
- Motivation Behind the Round: To further scale the platform and increase market penetration in the U.S.
- Series B Round
- Amount Raised: $115M
- Date: August 2022
- Lead Investors: Spark Capital, Walter Robb
- Valuation at Round: Not publicly disclosed
- Motivation Behind the Round: To grow market presence, hire more workers, expand internationally, and extend the software platform to new use cases.
Total Amount Raised: $147.8M. Current Valuation: Not publicly disclosed.
Key Investors
- Spark Capital
- Details: Spark Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in startups across various stages. They led Afresh's Series B funding round.
- Investment Focus Areas: Consumer, commerce, fintech, software, media
- Notable Investments: Twitter, Slack, Oculus
- Walter Robb
- Details: Walter Robb is the former co-CEO of Whole Foods Market and a senior executive partner at S2G Ventures. He participated in Afresh's Series B funding round.
- Investment Focus Areas: Food, sustainability, retail
- Notable Investments: Beyond Meat, Apeel Sciences
- Innovation Endeavors
- Details: Innovation Endeavors is a venture capital firm that invests in transformative technology companies. They have been involved in multiple funding rounds for Afresh.
- Investment Focus Areas: Technology, innovation
- Notable Investments: SoFi, Uber, Plenty
- Food Retail Ventures
- Details: Food Retail Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on investments in the food retail sector. They led Afresh's Series A funding round in November 2020.
- Investment Focus Areas: Food retail, technology, sustainability
- Notable Investments: Not publicly disclosed
- Baseline Ventures
- Details: Baseline Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. They led Afresh's seed funding round.
- Investment Focus Areas: Technology, innovation, early-stage startups
- Notable Investments: Instagram, Stitch Fix, Heroku
What's Next for Afresh?
Afresh stands at the cusp of significant growth opportunities. With its AI-powered platform already deployed in over 3,000 stores, the company aims to expand its reach to 10% of U.S. grocery stores by the end of the year. The recent $115 million Series B funding will fuel international expansion, particularly into Europe, and extend the platform to new fresh categories like meat and bakery. This expansion aligns with industry trends emphasizing sustainability and the reduction of food waste.
Future fundraising seems likely as Afresh scales its operations and technology. The company’s rapid growth and ambitious plans may attract additional investors, supporting further technological advancements and market penetration. However, challenges such as scaling the platform to meet the needs of a larger number of stores, managing international expansion, and competing with other AI-driven solutions in the fresh food sector could pose hurdles. Ensuring the platform remains user-friendly and effective will be crucial as Afresh navigates these growth opportunities.
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