Blendid, the maker of smoothie-making robots, announced today it had raised $2 million via crowdfunding platform StartEngine. According to the announcement sent to The Spoon, the raise brings the company’s total funding to $20 million raised through venture capital, strategic funding, and crowdfunding. The company raised funds over a four month period from over 1475 individual investors.
From the release:
Blendid is currently focused on growing its location footprint to increase its reach across the United States and perfect its food automation platform. Recently announcing its expansion plans to two new geographic areas, Blendid will use the additional funds to accelerate its expansion into the Southern California and Georgia markets with openings in a variety of venues such as malls, airports, hospitals, universities and retail stores.
The company counts Walmart and Jamba as its customers and, according to company sources, has served over 50 thousand customer orders.
Blendid isn’t the only robotics company to use crowdfunding in recent years. In fact, it seems like food robotics equity crowdfunding space has become downright crowded .
- Agtech robot company Small Robots raised £9 million in crowdfunding
- Future Acres launched a $3 million equity crowdfunding campaign to help it build Carry, a crop hauling robot that is its irst product
- Kiwibot launched a $1 million campaign through Wefunder, of which it raised $679 thousand
- Basil Street ambitiously looked to crowdfund $20 million for its pizza vending machine (although so far it’s only raised $615 thousand)
- Piestro raised $2 million for its pizza making robot
- Miso Robotics, which in some ways kicked off the robot food equity crowdfunding craze, launched a $30 million campaign through Seedinvest where it eventually raised a $16 million series C.
So why the interest in equity crowdfunding? There are a few reasons:
The first reason is the shine of traditional rewards-based crowdfunding has dimmed in recent years after several high-profile failures like the Coolest Cooler. By offering equity in the company, smaller investors feel they have a stake in the company and may be more forgiving than those who came to see rewards-based crowdfunding platforms as merchandise marketplaces.
Second, equity crowdfunding also gives small companies a way to sidestep traditional venture and strategic investors who a) might have higher oversight requirements or b) ask for too much of a stake than a founder(s) is willing to give up. It also opens up an entirely new pool of funding from small investors who have been shut out of the more traditional venture funding ecosystem.
Finally, robotics is a category that resonates with smaller investors. It’s an easy-to-understand space, and the investment thesis undergirding many of the proposals is largely correct: the food space is ripe for more automation and robotics, so why shouldn’t I put some skin in the game.
Long term, I expect the food robotics equity crowdfunding momentum to continue as smaller investors look for places to put their money outside of traditional investment vehicles. How these investments pay off for these investors is another story worth watching.
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