CoffeeTech startup ansā Roasting raises $9M in funding to fuel commercial roll-out of its micro-roaster across North America

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world, with over 2 billion cups consumed every day. It is a drink that has been enjoyed for centuries, and its popularity continues to grow. According to the National Coffee Association, the average American drinks 3.1 cups of coffee per day. This number is even higher for people aged 18-24, who drink an average of 4.2 cups per day.

Lately, there’s a new trend gaining momentum called hyper-local coffee roasting in the workplace,  typically within a 100-mile radius of the roastery. Unlike coffee roasted and shipped from long distances, this new practice involves roasting coffee beans in small batches to ensure that coffee enthusiasts relish a fresher and more tantalizing coffee experience. Now you can roast your own coffee before you drink, thanks to an Israeli startup on a mission to deliver the joy of freshly roasted coffee to aficionados across the globe.

Enter ansā Roasting, an Israeli CoffeeTech startup that’s revolutionizing the way coffee lovers enjoy their favorite beverage with its sleek, fully autonomous mini-roaster. The roaster, which can be placed on any office countertop, roasts raw green coffee beans on demand, offering a more Earth-friendly approach to savoring coffee and delightful brew right before consumption.

ansā, which stands for “the answer” in Japanese, emerged unexpectedly in Japan. The startup was founded in 2020 by Yuval Weisglass, Matan Scharf, and Jonathan Scharf. The two founders met at a conference when they were attending business ventures completely unrelated to coffee. While sharing cappuccinos at a Japanese café chain, the duo delved into the boundless possibilities within the coffee landscape, sparking the birth of ansā. Their shared mission was to lead the new future of coffee, through hyper-local roasting coffee in the workplace. As a specialty coffee company, ansā pioneered on-demand roasting with its innovative e23 Micro-roaster.

As part of its vision to lead a new era in the multi-million dollar coffee industry, ansā announced today it has closed $9 million in seed funding led by Jibe Ventures, a Tel Aviv-based early-stage fund. Additional backers include Closed Loop Ventures, New Climate Ventures, Millennium Food-tech, and Seeetwood. ansā will use the funding to fuel the commercial roll-out of its Micro-roaster across North America

Unlike the current coffee roasters on the market, ansā’s compact autonomous roasting device serves as a sustainable and planet-friendly alternative to the large, noisy, and smoke-producing industrial roasters. Designed to easily fit on any countertop, it seamlessly integrates into commercial spaces like hotel lobbies, restaurants, cafes, or shared workplaces. This sleek device operates quietly, devoid of smoke, and remains cool to the touch. The stylish countertop marvel can roast a single serving of coffee within minutes or be programmed to roast a specific quantity at a designated time using the ansā Roasting app.

ansā’s subscribers enjoy a continuous supply of premium-grade, 100% arabica beans, direct from the coffee field, packaged in eco-friendly bulk recyclable boxes. The outcome? A cascade of ecological benefits, resulting in reduced carbon emissions, all while indulging in an unparalleled coffee-drinking escapade. And for the coffee growers, it finally means a rightful share of the rewards they’ve sown.

ansā’s innovative strategy for sourcing and distributing coffee beans drastically curtails the distances these beans need to traverse. This innovative approach minimizes the transportation between farms, roasting facilities, and end consumers. Simultaneously, it eradicates the dependence on single-use capsules and other environmentally harmful packaging, forging a sustainable path forward.

Ansa’s innovative approach to sourcing and supplying coffee beans dramatically cuts the distances coffee beans need to travel by minimizing their transport between farms, roasting facilities, and customers while eliminating the reliance on single-use capsules and other environmentally polluting packaging.

“We are excited to invest in ansā, a CoffeeTech startup that embodies our business philosophy hand-in-glove,” commends Danny Hadar, Co-founder and Partner at Jibe. “Coffee is a global favorite beverage with an immense market. ansā not only offers a strong eco-friendly angle but is breaking new ground in the way we enjoy coffee, paving an exciting and greener future for the industry. Our investment strategy places great emphasis on supporting companies that promote sustainability and that have the capacity to make a profound impact.”

ansā co-founder and CEO Yuval Weisglass told TechStartups in an email that the new capital injection will be directed towards powering the widespread introduction of the micro-roaster in workplaces all across the United States and even beyond its borders. “Our micro-roaster is ready to market. During 2023 we secured commercial contracts nationwide with a lineup of top-tier distributors eagerly anticipating launching the service in prominent locations such as Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Seattle, and more!” Weisglass said.

“We are committed to broadening our coffee services geographically to meet the growing demand for sustainable coffee solutions, and to bring our unique coffee concept to a wider audience.”

Meanwhile, ansā’s e23 micro-roaster isn’t just a smaller version of the usual industrial roasters; it’s a game-changer. Unlike the conventional roasting methods that have long relied on gas-powered convection heat at temperatures soaring over 200°C, ansā introduces a completely novel approach to the art of coffee roasting. With their pioneering countertop invention, they’re rewriting the script.

This patent-pending appliance takes coffee beans to a whole new level, reinvigorating them from the core to the outer layer, and it does all of this without creating any noise, excessive heat, or unwanted by-products. The brilliance of this fully automated device lies in its advanced tech — it’s armed with a suite of sensors and powered by computer vision AI algorithms. This clever combo ensures a consistently uniform roast, setting the stage for that perfect cup of freshly brewed coffee.

“ansā is rewriting the coffee narrative by bringing aromatic fresh coffee ‘from shrub to cup’ sustainably,” enthuses Matan Scharf, ansā’s co-founder, and CMO. “The coffee landscape has long yearned for a rejuvenation. Our mission is to provide consumers with an extraordinary coffee experience, allowing them to engage with green coffee beans while indulging in superior quality coffee at its freshest. And all in the knowledge that they are protecting our planet and the livelihoods of coffee farmers.”

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