Spirits and technology startup Endless West secures $21m in Series B funding

Spirits and technology startup Endless West secures $21m in Series B funding

Published: 06-04-2021 15:07:00 | By: Pie Kamau | hits: 3893 | Tags:

Spirits and technology startup Endless West, announced it has raised $21 million in Series B funding, for a total of $33.7 million in investments to-date. Investors in this fundraising round include Horizons Ventures, Litani Ventures, North East Family Office and SOSV, among others.

Founded in 2015 by scientists Alec Lee and Mardonn Chua, Endless West uses a revolutionary, technology-driven process to create its own original brand of molecular spirits. Endless West is the first company to study and incorporate the molecular composition of wines and spirits, identifying key flavor and aroma molecules (or notes), then extracting them for use from more efficient sources in nature, including plants, fruits and yeasts. As a result, Endless West creates award-winning and environmentally-friendly alcoholic beverages with greater efficiency and speed compared to traditional production methods.

Endless West's most recent funding will accelerate the brand's technology development and R&D, as well as U.S. distribution for its suite of products: Glyph, a molecular spirit inspired by whiskey with three distinct expressions; Gemello, a molecular spirit inspired by Moscato d'Asti wine; and Kazoku, its saké-inspired molecular spirit. The new funding will also propel Endless West's B2B platform, Blank Collective. Blank Collective expands Endless West's high-quality, environmentally-friendly spirits offering at accessible price points for commercial use and distribution.

Alec Lee, Co-founder & CEO, Endless West: "At Endless West, we've created a brand new category of spirits to directly address and eliminate some of the biggest pain points in the industry. We protect the natural resources used to make spirits, pronounce those unique flavors that define the spirits' characteristics and innovate flavor through our technology-driven platform."

Endless West's resource-efficient process requires 94 percent less water, 92 percent less agricultural land compared to traditional whiskey production, since maturation is not required. Endless West's asset-light approach also makes it possible to set up operations in urban centers, eliminating the need to ship spirits over long distances thereby reducing carbon emissions resulting from ground transportation. 

Sarah Cone, Founder and Managing Partner, Social Impact Capital: "Endless West is one of the first companies to address climate change and true product innovation in the spirits world. For too long, we've been operating under the guise that the finest beverages must be produced using large swaths of land, exploiting precious resources. Endless West's use of technology presents a precise, flavorful experience without significant amounts of resources such as wood, water, land and energy that is usually needed to produce wine and spirits."

Later this year, Endless West plans to release its fourth new house brand since the company's inception just five years ago. Endless West's products can be found in major bars and restaurants across the U.S., and at shop.endlesswest.com.

endlesswest.com