Minnow Technologies, a Seattle-based IoT startup that has developed a contact-free food delivery and pickup solution (called the Minnow Pickup Pod™), announced today that it has raised $2.2M in an oversubscribed seed round. Elevate Capital, an early-stage venture fund based in Portland, OR, led the round. Also participating in the round were Portland Seed Fund and the venture capital arm of Lincoln Property Company, LPC Ventures. In addition to this financing, Minnow raised a $1.2M pre-seed round in 2018.

"This funding serves as a testament to the importance of Minnow's contact-free technology in the COVID-19 era and beyond," said Steven Sperry, Minnow's CEO and cofounder. "The pandemic is only accelerating trends-like online food ordering and delivery-that were already well underway before the virus appeared."

The coronavirus pandemic has spurred demand for contact-free technologies that can reduce the need for face-to-face interactions, especially when it comes to delivering and picking up food. Minnow's IoT-enabled Pickup Pods provide a safe, secure, and contact-free way to deliver or pick up food. They can be used anywhere that food is picked up, for example in restaurants and cafeterias, to provide a safer, more convenient pickup experience. Minnow Pickup Pods can also be used wherever food is delivered, to keep consumers and food delivery workers safer.

"We're thrilled to be able to help power Minnow's growth," said Nitin Rai, Managing Director of Elevate Capital. "Minnow has everything we look for in an investment-a passionate team of experienced entrepreneurs, a bold and disruptive vision, defensible technology, and an enormous market opportunity."

Since the outbreak began, Minnow has been overwhelmed with demand for its food delivery and pickup pods from two sectors: food service and commercial real estate. For food service operators like restaurants, cafeterias, food halls, and ghost kitchens, Minnow Pickup Pods offer a safe and more secure order pickup. For commercial real estate companies that operate office and multi-family residential buildings, Minnow provides a contact-free food delivery solution that helps them manage the growing volume of food being delivered to their properties.

"With Minnow, we see a solution that will not only help our properties adapt to the realities of COVID-19, but also provide our tenants with a convenient, technologically-enhanced amenity," said Eric Roseman, Vice President of Innovation & Technology Ventures for Lincoln Property Company. "It's all about creating those compelling experiences and reducing friction."

To keep up with the demand, Minnow is accelerating production of its first commercial model, the Minnow P5 Pickup Pod. The company is now accepting pre-orders for the first batch of production units.

To learn how to provide a safer, more convenient, and contact-free food delivery and pickup experience using the Minnow Pickup Pod, visit minnowpod.com.

###

About Minnow

Founded in 2017, Minnow is transforming how people get their food with its contact-free Pickup Pods, which keep food secure and people safe. Minnow Pickup Pods can be used anywhere that food is delivered or picked up. The result of a human-centered design journey that involved multiple generations of prototypes and thousands of hours of field testing, the Minnow Pickup Pod is a versatile, open solution that can be used out of the box or integrated with existing POS, online ordering, and delivery platforms. To learn more, visit us at minnowpod.com. You can also connect with us on LinkedIn.