[marothisu]

Fast-growing cannabis startup Fyllo raises $30M to double staff

https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/...aises-30m.html

Fyllo, a fast-growing Chicago startup that helps cannabis firms with marketing and compliance, just raised a new round of funding as it looks to double its headcount in the next year.

Fyllo announced Tuesday that it raised a $30 million Series B round co-led by JW Asset Management and Sol Global. Other backers include K2, Entourage Effect Capital, Arcadian Capital Management, Salveo Capital, 2 NRP Managers and George Steinbrenner IV, the grandson of the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Founded in 2019 by Chad Bronstein, Aristotle Loumis and Erik Shani, Fyllo has now raised nearly $60 million in funding to date. The startup currently has 120 employees, Loumis said, and it plans to double its headcount in the next 12 to 18 months.

Fyllo's software helps cannabis brands ensure that their ads comply with state and federal advertising regulations, and is used by cannabis dispensaries like Columbia Care and Grassroots Cannabis. But Fyllo believes its software can grow beyond the legal marijuana space and help companies in other highly regulated industries with advertising.

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Bartesian lands $20M and Mila Kunis endorsement as it aims to become the ‘Peloton of home cocktails’

https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/...dorsement.html

Bartesian, a Chicago-based startup selling a Keurig-like machine for cocktail making, has raised new funding as it works to become the “Peloton of home cocktails.”

Bartesian raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Cleveland Avenue, a Chicago VC firm from former McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson.

The new funding will be used to expand into international markets and double Bartesian's staff, said founder and CEO Ryan Close.

He would not disclose how much capital Bartesian has raised since it launched, but Tom Ricketts, the chairman of the Chicago Cubs, and Beam Suntory, the owner of bourbon whiskey brand Jim Beam, have previously invested undisclosed amounts in the company.

In addition to the funding round, Bartesian also announced Tuesday that actress Mila Kunis has joined the company’s board of advisors. Close would not disclose whether Kunis has invested in Bartesian but confirmed that she has an ownership stake in the business.

Bartesian debuted on Kickstarter in 2015 as a countertop device that creates cocktails on demand. The device, which retails for $350, was named to Oprah's Favorite Things list in 2019, which helped propel it into mainstream popularity.

Bartesian works by using Keurig-like capsules, which are used to make drinks like an old fashioned, margarita, gin martini or a long island iced tea. Each pod offers the appropriate amount of bitters, extracts, juice concentrates and other ingredients needed to make the cocktail. Users provide their own alcohol and simply push a button to make a drink.

During the pandemic, as bars closed and people began drinking more at home, Bartesian saw 975% year-over-year revenue growth in 2020, with subscribers growing more than 30 times since March 2020.

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Shell invests in Chicago company making sustainable jet fuel

https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/...-lantajet.html

A Chicago firm that's bringing clean energy to the aviation industry by converting alcohol into jet fuel just received backing from oil giant Shell.

Shell announced Tuesday that it has invested in LanzaJet, a spinoff of Chicago-based LanzaTech that's making sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel for the commercial aviation market. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Shell's funding is part of a phased investment approach that will allow the company to make further investments in LanzaJet over time, the company said.

Shell joins other high-profile backers of LanzaJet –which just launched in 2020– including British Airways, All Nippon Airways and Suncor Energy.

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LanzaJet is building a plant in Soperton, Georgia, that can make up to 10 million gallons of jet fuel per year – with operations scheduled to begin in 2022. With its technology that converts alcohol to jet fuel, the company says it can produce up to 90% of its fuels as sustainable aviation fuel, with the remaining 10% as renewable diesel.

LanzaJet says its fuel delivers more than a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional fossil jet fuel.