The company's latest Cultivate Next cohorts include Greenfield
Robotics and Nitricity
NEWPORT
BEACH, Calif., Dec. 13,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chipotle Mexican Grill
(NYSE: CMG) today announced it is investing in Greenfield Robotics,
a company founded with the vision of making regenerative farming
more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable by leveraging the
latest advances in AI, robotics, and sensing technologies, and
Nitricity, a company seeking to tackle greenhouse gas emissions by
creating fertilizer products that are better for fields, farmers,
and the environment. These minority investments are being made
through Chipotle's $50 million
Cultivate Next venture fund.
Cultivate Next makes early-stage investments into strategically
aligned companies that further Chipotle's mission to Cultivate a
Better World and help accelerate the company's aggressive growth
plans. As a people-first company, Chipotle is seeking opportunities
that will elevate the human experience for its restaurant teams and
suppliers as well as increase access and convenience for its
guests.
Greenfield Robotics – Robots for Regenerative
Agriculture
Conventional farming destroys weeds with
chemicals and soil tillage, resulting in escalating costs, soil
erosion and degradation of soil, resistant weeds, and health risks
for both wildlife and humans. Greenfield Robotics provides
regenerative agriculture solutions without chemicals. Their fleets
of autonomous robots are lightweight and cut weeds between rows of
broadacre crops, day or night, reducing dependence on herbicides
while supporting regenerative farming practices and reducing risk
for farmers.
With its Cultivate Next investment, Greenfield Robotics will
continue its efforts to build out its fleet of autonomous
agricultural robots and develop additional capabilities for
forthcoming iterations of its robots, including micro-spraying,
cover crop planting, and soil testing.
"The work of Greenfield Robotics to build out a tech forward
alternative to herbicides plays an important role in ensuring a
more sustainable future for the agricultural industry," said
Curt Garner, Chief Customer and
Technology Officer, Chipotle. "We will help Greenfield Robotics
scale their robotic offerings and explore how their robots can be
deployed on farms within our supply chain."
"Like Chipotle's commitment to Food with Integrity, we believe
in the future of real, responsibly and sustainably raised food,"
said Clint Brauer, founder of
Greenfield Robotics. "In partnership with Chipotle, we can continue
to explore creative solutions to some of the biggest challenges
facing farmers across the United
States."
Nitricity – New Age Fertilizer
Inspired by the
natural occurrence of lightning breaking down nitrogen in the air
and rainwater bringing it to the soil as nitrate to create natural
fertilizer, Nitricity has pioneered a practice of creating
artificial lightning. The company leverages air, water, and
renewable energy from the artificial lightning to produce a
cleaner, more sustainable, and cost-efficient fertilizer. The
current process of producing, distributing, and using nitrogen
fertilizer by way of the Haber-Bosch method requires a large amount
of fossil fuels and emits significant amounts of carbon dioxide,
contributing to 5-7% of total global GHG (greenhouse gases).
Nitricity's nitrogen fertilizer has 5 to 10 times less GHG
emissions due to its electrified production and field application
process. Nitricity is building its production model of fertilizer
on or near its end customers to limit the emissions from fertilizer
distribution and application. Currently, up to 20% of fertilizer in
the U.S. is imported through an expensive and complex supply
chain.
Nitricity has started field trials for their fertilizer product
with Salinas Valley farmers, including Chipotle suppliers in the
region. Funding from Cultivate Next will be used to scale up
Nitricity's production of nitrogen, build out the company's
infrastructure, and support the launch of its first commercial
product within the next two years.
"We're proud to support Nitricity's pursuit of a product
innovation whose environmental benefits are complimentary to
Chipotle's approach to Food With Integrity," said Jack Hartung, Chief Financial and Administrative
Officer, Chipotle. He added, "Fertilizers have experienced steep
price increases in recent years due to supply chain issues, fossil
fuel price volatility, and rising distribution costs. Nitricity's
fertilizer offering not only has the potential to reduce the carbon
footprint of the fertilizer industry, but it can be a
cost-effective solution for growers in our supply chain."
"Nitricity is committed to producing fertilizer that is
optimized for farmers, not factory production or freight
distribution," said Nico Pinkowski,
co-founder and CEO of Nitricity. "Partnering with Chipotle will
unquestionably accelerate our path toward disrupting the industry
with climate-smart technology."
Tim McAfee, a Cultivate Next
Venture Collaborator and current Chipotle produce supplier noted:
"I have visited the facilities of both Nitricity and Greenfield
Robotics and am optimistic and enthusiastic about the impact these
innovations could have on the growing community."
What's Next for Cultivate Next?
Chipotle will
continue to provide more updates on the Cultivate Next venture fund
in 2024 and beyond. Companies interested in collaborating with
Chipotle through the Cultivate Next venture fund can apply by
emailing cultivatenext@chipotle.com.
About Chipotle
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better
world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food
with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or
preservatives. Chipotle had over 3,300 restaurants as
of September 30, 2023, in the United States, Canada,
the United Kingdom, France and Germany and
is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates
all its restaurants in North America and Europe.
Chipotle is ranked on the Fortune 500 and is recognized on the 2023
list for Fortune's Most Admired Companies and Time Magazine's Most
Influential Companies. With over 110,000 employees passionate about
providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader
and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making
its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand
with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital,
technology and sustainable business practices. For more information
or to place an order online, visit www.chipotle.com.
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SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill