W23

cb Email

Status

ACTIVE

Global HQ

Sydney, Australia

Countries of investment

United States
United Kingdom
Australia
New Zealand
Canada
Netherlands
Belgium
Indonesia
South Africa
Republic of Ireland
Germany
France

Investment stages

Seed
Series A
Series B

Industries

Retail Tech
Supply Chain
FoodTech
Digital Health

About
W23 Global is a Sydney-based collaborative venture capital fund focused on grocery retail innovation and sustainability. Their focus spans retail tech, grocery tech, supply chain, sustainable packaging, agricultural biodiversity, food tech, and digital health across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Indonesia, South Africa, and the Republic of Ireland. The firm supports founders from Seed through Series B with strategic distribution access to 19,000+ retail stores globally.

Min check size: $2M
Max check size: $15M
Fund size: Unlock
NPS: Unlock

Investment Thesis

W23 Global is a collaborative venture capital firm deploying capital across retail technology, grocery tech, supply chain, sustainable packaging, agricultural biodiversity, and food tech sectors. They invest in start-ups and scale-ups deploying technology to transform grocery retail and create a better planet across major global markets. The firm differentiates itself through its unique structure as a collaborative fund backed by five of the world's leading grocery retailers (Ahold Delhaize, Tesco, Woolworths Group, Empire/Sobeys, Shoprite Group) with CEOs on the investment committee, providing portfolio companies with accelerated pathways to global scale across 30+ countries and a multi-strategic customer ecosystem worth £200B+ in combined retail sales.

Lead investor: Unlock
Co Invest: Unlock
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Manager's Experience

Ingrid Maes (CEO & Chief Investment Officer) leads W23 Global with over 25 years of experience in retail, data, customer loyalty, digital, and investing; she has been the founder, Managing Director, and Chief Investment Officer of W23 Australia (Woolworths Group's strategic investment arm) since 2019, where she built one of the most successful corporate venture capital portfolios in Australia including investments in Marley Spoon (NASDAQ-listed meal kit provider) and Eucalyptus (telehealth platform). She has built a reputation as a visionary innovator and business builder known for moving fast, challenging the status quo, and delivering commercial results. The fund's investment committee includes the CEOs of all five backing retailers: Ken Murphy (Tesco), Frans Muller (Ahold Delhaize), Brad Banducci (Woolworths Group), Michael Medline (Empire/Sobeys), and Pieter Engelbrecht (Shoprite Group), giving portfolio companies unparalleled access to retail decision-makers controlling $200B+ in combined annual sales and 19,000+ stores across 30+ countries.

Team

Ingrid Maes - CEO & Chief Investment Officer

Cain Roberts - Investment Director

Nick Crocker - Investment Partner

James Tucker - Operating Partner

Portfolio

Topsort

Keychain

Gr4vy

Marley Spoon

Eucalyptus

Maxwell Plus

Sharesies

MadePure

Hivery

Tetlow King

Wholegrain Milling Co

Q-CTRL

Fund number