Atomo Coffee, Inc. – whose CEO and cofounder is Burien’s own Andy Kleitsch – announced the close of a $40 million Series A investment from agtech leaders S2G Ventures, AgFunder and Horizons Ventures.
The funding round enables further investment in beanless coffee new product development, manufacturing scale and the official consumer launch of their game-changing beverages beginning with two ready-to-drink cold brews. Available now, the initial products include Classic Black and Ultra Smooth both brewed from plant based ingredients and deliver the caffeine consumers expect. Atomo’s R&D will continue innovating in the category as they build products to meet every format and occasion for enjoying coffee.
“With Atomo in the hands of the consumer we are empowering them to drink coffee they love while making a choice to do something better for the planet, every day,” Kleitch said.
Founded in 2019 in the heart of Seattle, Atomo’s mission is to reverse engineer coffee utilizing upcycled ingredients to deliver a consistently smooth coffee experience with a reduced environmental impact. Having perfected their solution, they are now prepared to deliver consumers a premium tasting coffee experience with 93% less carbon emission and 94% less water.
“Atomo’s cold brew products deliver great environmental benefits and their taste is superior to other products on the shelves,” said Chuck Templeton. “Great taste and better for the planet is a win-win combination.”
In a recent blind taste study conducted by National Food Labs, Atomo’s cold brew out ranked competitive conventional cold brew products on preference 2:1, with panelists not being able to recognize Atomo was made without conventional coffee beans.
“We are amazed at how Atomo’s molecular platform is able to create such a premium beanless coffee experience for consumers, with every sip bringing confidence and satisfaction. Atomo is delivering on taste and sustainability for coffee lovers worldwide.” said Wayne Cheng of Horizons Ventures.
Many reports over the past five years have highlighted the effects of climate change on coffee growing regions around the globe. Drought, frost, as well as rising temperatures, have made current coffee growing regions less suitable, leading growers to deforest areas of virgin rainforest uphill to reach more tolerable climates for their coffee plantations.
“The demand for coffee is increasing year over year with climate change significantly impacting the farming regions, which in turn will impact the consumer through price and availability,” said Rob Leclerc of AgFunder, “breakthrough technologies pioneered by Atomo, are going to be a part of the solution for future generations to be able continue enjoying their favorite brews.”
Atomo is now available through the company’s website www.atomocoffee.com and will be available at select retail locations later this year.
About Andy Klietsch
A PNW native, Andy Kleitsch was born and raised in Burien, WA, completing a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Marketing from Emerson College. Beginning his entrepreneurship journey in the early 90’s on a 14.4k modem, Andy and his wife launched the WeddingChannel.com (now TheKnot.com) and have been hooked on startups ever since. Over the past 15 years, Andy has founded several tech companies in a variety of fields as well as spending a few years in innovation at Amazon Payments developing a mobile wallet program.
His expertise and excitement come from first mover businesses. His first mobile payments company came before the iPhone and he is now working to bring to market the world’s first beanless coffee.
Andy enjoys boating around the Puget Sound with his family as well as backcountry hiking. He and his wife continue to pay forward their startup experience by hosting the “BYOB: Build Your Own Business” club for entrepreneurial students at the University of Washington as well as Andy being on the board of mentors for the Master in Entrepreneurship program.
About Atomo Coffee
Founded in 2019, Atomo is a Seattle-based, food-tech startup improving coffee taste and confronting the climate crisis by reinventing coffee for tomorrow. They have reverse-engineered the coffee bean—producing outstanding cold brew coffee that tastes great and does good. Learn more at www.atomocoffee.com.
About S2G Ventures
S2G Ventures, the direct investment team of Builders Vision, partners with entrepreneurs who are working on solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges across the food, agriculture, oceans, and clean energy markets. They provide capital, mentorship, and value-added resources to companies pursuing innovative market-based solutions that generate positive social, environmental, and financial returns. They provide partners with flexible capital solutions that can range from seed and venture funding through growth equity to debt and infrastructure financing. For more information about S2G, visit s2gventures.com, tune-in to their Podcast, or connect with them on LinkedIn.
