Startup has cracked the code on making grocery delivery profitable; Funding comes from ARTIS Labs, Resolute Ventures, Y Combinator and others

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Farmstead, the nation's first AI-powered digital grocer that sources and delivers fresh, local food from farm to fridge in 60 minutes, announced today that it has raised an additional $2.2M venture round from ARTIS Labs, Resolute Ventures, Y Combinator, Red Dog Capital and other investors, bringing the total raised to date to $7.5M. The funding will help Farmstead set the stage for accelerated geographic expansion.

Farmstead leverages AI and predictive analytics models to accurately predict demand, supply accordingly, deliver orders of fresher-than-the-usual local products in less than an hour, and minimize food waste. The company's customer base has been growing by 20-30 percent per month.

Operating in the Bay Area since 2016, Farmstead’s finely tuned, AI-powered predictive analytics models help it accurately predict demand, supply accordingly, deliver orders of fresher-than-the-usual local products in less than an hour, and minimize food waste. The company’s customer base has been growing swiftly - 20-30 percent month-over-month - with stellar repeat business.

“Farmstead is turning the grocery game on its head, leveraging technology to obtain huge efficiency gains,” said Stuart Peterson, Founder of ARTIS Labs. “The work Farmstead is doing has wide implications not only for consumer-facing grocery buying, but for the whole supply chain. The fact that Farmstead is trending towards positive contribution margin already speaks volumes about the efficiency of their model. We’re really excited to be involved.”

Mike Hirshland, General Partner at Resolute Ventures, said, “To replace a trip to the grocery store, so many things have to go right, from ordering the right inventory to last-mile delivery. Farmstead has cracked the code on making grocery delivery profitable and rapidly scalable - this could legitimately become a monster company.”

“We went into this business knowing that data would be the key to making our model sustainable,” said Farmstead CEO and co-founder Pradeep Elankumaran. “Our experience in the Bay Area has shown us that it’s possible to locally source and deliver groceries profitably. In the last year we have turned all the tricky operational parts of our business into digital products that abstract away much of the complexity and drive profitability on each order. With our playbook in hand, we’re already laying the groundwork for aggressive geographic expansion in 2019.”

Farmstead has a track record of innovation in the grocery space. In October, the company announced that it is one of the first grocers in the country to deliver via autonomous vans.

To learn more about Farmstead, visit https://www.farmsteadapp.com/.

About Farmstead
Farmstead is the only pure-play digital grocer that brings fresh, local groceries to doorsteps in 60 minutes.  Using AI-powered technology, Farmstead has reinvented the grocery buying experience and re-wired how food moves across the country to significantly reduce food waste and make high quality, locally sourced food accessible to everyone. For more information visit www.farmsteadapp.com/about.

Media Contact:
Michelle Faulkner
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michelle@big-swing.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/717b0a68-af50-4e7b-9ed3-911d3ba3d2b0