March 6, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Cultivate Next, the $50 million venture capital fund of Chipotle Mexican Grill, is now a $100 million venture fund after Chipotle announced it doubled its capital commitment to mark the fund’s two-year anniversary. 

Originally launched in 2022, Cultivate Next makes early-stage investments in strategically aligned startups with the potential to advance the company’s aggressive growth plans of operating 7,000 locations across North America while furthering its mission to cultivate a better world. 

The move to launch venture capital arms and accelerator programs or incubators has become a widely used method by some of the world’s largest and most conventional companies to achieve diversification and to gain a foothold and relevance in a swiftly changing consumer market. CPG companies also use these programs as a means to stay a step ahead of their competition while realizing the growth potential in disruptive food innovation.

This reflects the paradigm within the food sector in which Big Food needs the rapid-response innovation generated by startups as much as startups need the capital available from Big Food.

“It is incredible to see the possibilities that exist when we bring the right founders, startups or ventures into collaboration with Chipotle,” said Christian Gammill, fund manager, Cultivate Next. “Witnessing the progress of our cohorts over the past two years has motivated us to scale our efforts and drive real change in the supply chain, agriculture, restaurant innovation, and automation sectors.”

Since its inception, Cultivate Next has invested in a range of companies that are focused on innovating farming, supply chains, advanced robotics, and plant-based foods. This commitment of a further $50 million will be used to expand the fund’s portfolio which currently includes:

Local Line – A loading food sourcing platform for regional farms, producers, food hubs, and food buyers. In less than a year, Chipotle’s investment has helped the company digitize its platform, increase its customer retention rate, build its farm database, and expand internationally to serve farms in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Conversely, Local Line has helped Chipotle to meet its local produce sourcing goals. 

After early success, Cultivate Next has made an incremental investment in the company and will also leverage it to fund grants to local farms within 350 miles of its new restaurants. 

Greenfield Robotics – Based in Cheney, Kansas, and led by third-generation farmer Clint Brauer, Greenfield Robotics is providing solutions that make regenerative farming more cost-effective, efficient, and sustainable by leveraging AI, sensor technology, and robotics. With its investment from Cultivate Next, the company is continuing to build out its robotic fleet, which is currently operating on farms in several U.S. states, and to release additional capabilities for the robots including micro-spraying, cover crop planting, and soil testing. 

Nitricity – A company creating fertilizers that are better for fields, farmers, and the environment by leveraging air, water, and renewable energy from artificial lightning to produce a cleaner, more sustainable, and cost-efficient fertilizer that emits five-10 times less GHGs due to its electrified production and field application process. Backing from Cultivate Next will be used to launch its first commercial product within the next two years. 

Vebu – A product developer that works with food industry leaders to co-create intelligent automation and technology solutions. Chipotle is currently collaborating with Vebu to build and scale Autocado – a proprietary avocado processing robot prototype. The Autocado is progressing through Chipotle’s stage-gate process and will go through operational testing in one restaurant this spring. 

Hyphen – A foodservice platform helping restaurant owners, operators, and chefs by automating kitchen operations. Chipotle is collaborating to build a digital makeline that uses intelligent automation to build bowls and salads while employees operate the top makeline to make burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. This makeline will debut in a single restaurant as part of a stage-gate process, and Hyphen recently received a follow-on investment from Culviate Next. 

Meati – A producer of nutrient-dense, whole-food products made from MushroomRoot™. Along with Meati, Chipotle is continuing to explore the possibilities through menu innovations that meet its Food with Integrity standards. 

Zero Acre Farms – A food company with a goal to end industrial dependence on vegetable oils by developing healthy, sustainable oils and fats made by fermentation in an environmentally friendly manner. Chipotle is in the early trials stage of testing Zero Acre Farms at its Cultivate Center test kitchen in Irvine, California.

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

*The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.