Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said it’s doubling its commitment — to $100 million — to its two-year-old venture fund that invests in supply chain, agriculture, restaurant innovation and automation businesses.
The Newport Beach, California-based Mexican food chain (NYSE: CMG) said by adding another $50 million to its Cultivate Next venture fund, the company will be able to accelerate to its goal of operating 7,000 restaurants in North America, which would more than double the number of restaurants it currently has operating around the world.
Chipotle formed the venture fund in April 2022, when Chief Technology Officer Curt Garner said, "Investing in forward-thinking ventures that are looking to drive meaningful change at scale will help accelerate Chipotle's aggressive growth plans.”
Some of the investments made by the fund include undisclosed amounts in Hyphen, an automated kitchen company based in San Jose that makes products that use robotics to fulfill food orders, and in Meati Foods of Boulder, Colorado, which makes food products made from mushroom root.
The Cultivate Next fund has also invested undisclosed amounts in Local Line, an Ontario, Canada-based produce sourcing company; Greenfield Robotics, a Kansas-based agricultural robotic company; Nitricity, a Fremont, California-based renewable nitrogen fertilizer company; Vebu, an El Segundo, California-based food automation and technology company; and Zero Acre Farms, a San Mateo, California sustainable oil and fats company.
"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, Cultivate Next Fund manager, in a statement. "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.”
