Exclusive: Grubbrr raises $35M in IP-backed financing deal

Grubbrr is betting that its self-ordering technology and point-of-sale systems can take off in restaurants, sports venues, casinos and retailers.

Why it matters: The company is tapping into a creative area of financing called IP-backed lending. The alternative form of financing allows a company to gain access to debt capital by exchanging its IP assets as collateral.

What’s happening: Grubbrr will receive $35 million from Aon as part of this arrangement, Axios has learned. The British-American professional services firm launched an IP-backed lending program in 2020.

Between the lines: “Intellectual property is the only way to convert innovation into an asset class,” Lewis Lee, CEO of Aon’s Intellectual Property Solutions, tells Kimberly. This is a way to extract the most value out of an intangible asset like IP, he added.

• Over the past 18 months, Aon closed two transactions worth around $100 million using this type of financing (an agriculture tech company and a razor company).
• What’s attractive about this financing route is that it is non-dilutive to both the company’s investors and employees, Grubbrr CEO Sam Zietz said.

By the numbers: Grubbrr said recurring revenue, a common metric used by software companies, increased by 318% year over year in 2021.

• Grubbrr, which has worked with over 250 brands, said that more than 90% of its pilot programs rolled out across the rest of a company’s business.

The bottom line: Zietz said that he plans to use the funding to increase staffing. The company is aiming for another fundraising later this year.