Much of how people buy food has moved online — restaurants often replace menus with QR codes that let you order with your smartphones, and grocery shopping has been revolutionized with delivery services like Instacart. But until recently, the other side of the food supply chain — how small restaurants and neighborhood groceries procured food — depended largely on physical media, pen and paper. Now, GrubMarket, which provides software and services that help link up and manage relationships between food suppliers and their customers, is hoping to make the distribution process more digital and efficient via a new acquisition. California-based GrubMarket recently acquired Butter, a SaaS platform that aims to digitize the traditionally manual food distribution process with AI, the companies exclusively told TechCrunch. Founded in 2020, Butter’s eight-person team will join GrubMarket, and its software suite will be integrated with GrubMarket’s own slate of offerings. Mike Xu, founder and CEO of GrubMarket, declined to disclose the price of the deal, but Winston Chi, Butter’s co-founder, told TechCrunch that 'most parties, including our investors and us, are making money' from the exit. Butter’s post-money valuation was $39 million when it raised a $9 million Series A in November 2022, per PitchBook (the company confirmed with TechCrunch the reported valuation is roughly correct). Backed by investors, including Google’s AI-focused Gradient Ventures, Uncommon Capital, Notation Capital, Collide Capital, and angel investor Jack Altman, the startup has raised $12.3 million in total. GrubMarket has been on a buying spree over the past few years and has acquired over 100 companies to date. Most of these deals focus on supply chain consolidation, as the company operates a B2B e-commerce business. On one hand, GrubMarket directly sources produce and ingredients from growers and supplies to buyers like supermarkets. On the other, it sells distributors the software needed to run their businesses. It’s not unlike Amazon’s positioning as both a marketplace and SaaS provider. Butter, alongside Farmigo and IOT Pay, remains one of the few venture-backed startups in GrubMarket’s portfolio that are aimed at bolstering its tech stack. It’s unclear whether GrubMarket used capital from its balance sheet for the acquisition. Given its profitability and funding history, it wouldn’t be surprising if the money came out of its pocket — Xu told TechCrunch the company has been profitable on an EBITDA-basis for three consecutive years, and its annual revenue run rate is on track to surpass $2 billion in 2024. Xu declined to comment on GrubMarket’s fundraising plans, only saying that it has raised 'hundreds of millions of dollars' to date. GrubMarket’s last publicly announced investment happened in 2022, a $120 million round that valued it at more than $2 billion. In late 2021, Bloomberg reported that the company was 'interviewing banks' for a potential IPO in 2022. Scooping up Butter GrubMarket는 효율적이고 강력한 유통 프로세스를 기대하며, 새로운 인수를 통해 디지턀로 만드는 것을 희망합니다. GrubMarket의 설립자이자 CEO인 Mike Xu는 거래 가격에 대해 언급하기를 거부했지만 Butter의 공동 창립자 인 Winston Chi는 '우리 투자자를 포함한 대부분의 당사자가 돈을 벌고 있다'고 TechCrunch에 전했습니다. 버터의 사후 금융 평가는 2022년 11월 900만 달러의 A 시리즈를 조달 할 때 3900만 달러였으며(회사는 PitchBook과 확인했으며 보고된 평가는 대략 맞다고 함). Google의 AI 중점 Gradient Ventures, Uncommon Capital, Notation Capital, Collide Capital 및 천사 투자자 잭 알트만을 비롯한 투자자들의 후원을 받은이 스타트업은 총 1230만 달러를 조달했습니다. 그뿐만 아니라 Butter, Farmigo 및 IOT Pay와 함께 GrubMarket의 기술 스택을 강화하려는 목적으로 시작한 몇 안되는 벤처 백 스타트업 중 하나입니다. Much of how people buy food has moved online — restaurants often replace menus with QR codes that let you order with your smartphones, and grocery shopping has been revolutionized with delivery services like Instacart. But until recently, the other side of the food supply chain — how small restaurants and neighborhood groceries procured food — depended largely on physical media, pen and paper. Now, GrubMarket, which provides software and services that help link up and manage relationships between food suppliers and their customers, is hoping to make the distribution process more digital and efficient via a new acquisition. California-based GrubMarket recently acquired Butter, a SaaS platform that aims to digitize the traditionally manual food distribution process with AI, the companies exclusively told TechCrunch. Founded in 2020, Butter’s eight-person team will join GrubMarket, and its software suite will be integrated with GrubMarket’s own slate of offerings. Mike Xu, founder and CEO of GrubMarket, declined to disclose the price of the deal, but Winston Chi, Butter’s co-founder, told TechCrunch that 'most parties, including our investors and us, are making money' from the exit. Butter’s post-money valuation was $39 million when it raised a $9 million Series A in November 2022, per PitchBook (the company confirmed with TechCrunch the reported valuation is roughly correct). Backed by investors, including Google’s AI-focused Gradient Ventures, Uncommon Capital, Notation Capital, Collide Capital, and angel investor Jack Altman, the startup has raised $12.3 million in total. GrubMarket has been on a buying spree over the past few years and has acquired over 100 companies to date. Most of these deals focus on supply chain consolidation, as the company operates a B2B e-commerce business. On one hand, GrubMarket directly sources produce and ingredients from growers and supplies to buyers like supermarkets. On the other, it sells distributors the software needed to run their businesses. It’s not unlike Amazon’s positioning as both a marketplace and SaaS provider. Butter, alongside Farmigo and IOT Pay, remains one of the few venture-backed startups in GrubMarket’s portfolio that are aimed at bolstering its tech stack. It’s unclear whether GrubMarket used capital from its balance sheet for the acquisition. Given its profitability and funding history, it wouldn’t be surprising if the money came out of its pocket — Xu told TechCrunch the company has been profitable on an EBITDA-basis for three consecutive years, and its annual revenue run rate is on track to surpass $2 billion in 2024. Xu declined to comment on GrubMarket’s fundraising plans, only saying that it has raised 'hundreds of millions of dollars' to date. GrubMarket’s last publicly announced investment happened in 2022, a $120 million round that valued it at more than $2 billion. In late 2021, Bloomberg reported that the company was 'interviewing banks' for a potential IPO in 2022. Scooping up Butter GrubMarket는 효율적이고 강력한 유통 프로세스를 기대하며, 새로운 인수를 통해 디지턀로 만드는 것을 희망합니다. GrubMarket의 설립자이자 CEO인 Mike Xu는 거래 가격에 대해 언급하기를 거부했지만 Butter의 공동 창립자 인 Winston Chi는 '우리 투자자를 포함한 대부분의 당사자가 돈을 벌고 있다'고 TechCrunch에 전했습니다. 버터의 사후 금융 평가는 2022년 11월 900만 달러의 A 시리즈를 조달 할 때 3900만 달러였으며(회사는 PitchBook과 확인했으며 보고된 평가는 대략 맞다고 함). Google의 AI 중점 Gradient Ventures, Uncommon Capital, Notation Capital, Collide Capital 및 천사 투자자 잭 알트만을 비롯한 투자자들의 후원을 받은이 스타트업은 총 1230만 달러를 조달했습니다. 그뿐만 아니라 Butter, Farmigo 및 IOT Pay와 함께 GrubMarket의 기술 스택을 강화하려는 목적으로 시작한 몇 안되는 벤처 백 스타트업 중 하나입니다. 
