Chipotle Launches $50M Venture Fund

Chipotle Mexican Grill's newest role? Investor.  Chipotle Mexican Grill has formed Cultivate Next, a new venture which intends to make early-stage investments into strategically aligned companies that further the company's mission "to cultivate a better world." The new venture fund will have an initial size of $50 million and will be financed solely by Chipotle.

Investing in Technology

The fund aim is to support seed to Series B stage companies that can accelerate the the fast-casual brand's priorities --  such as running great restaurants, amplifying technology and innovation, further advancing its Food With Integrity mission, and expanding access and convenience for consumers. 

"We are exploring investments in emerging innovation that will enhance our employee and guest experience, and quite possibly revolutionize the restaurant industry," said Curt Garner, Chief Technology Officer, Chipotle. "Investing in forward-thinking ventures that are looking to drive meaningful change at scale will help accelerate Chipotle's aggressive growth plans."

As a digital innovator, Chipotle has a long list of being on the leading edge of technology. The fast casual band recently began testing an artificially intelligent robot, Chippy, to cook its tortilla chips, as well as radio-frequency identification (RFID) to trace and track ingredients in its restaurants. Chipotle is also leveraging a new scheduling tool that uses machine learning to build more effective schedules, and last year, invested in the autonomous delivery company, Nuro.

Companies interested in collaborating with Chipotle through the Cultivate Next new venture fund can apply by emailing [email protected].