The caffeine-free coffee start-up will use new funding from 43North’s accelerator programme to grow online sales, launch a wholesale business and work towards opening its first roastery in Buffalo
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Rarebird patented its Px-infused coffee in April 2024 | Photo credit: Rarebird Coffee
US start-up Rarebird Coffee has raised $1m to scale its e-commerce sales, launch a B2B business for its ground packaged coffee and pods, and invest in R&D.
Founded in 2020 by Jeffrey Dietrich, Rarebird’s Colombian coffee is decaffeinated before being shipped to the US, where it is roasted, ground and infused with 60mg of caffeine alternative paraxanthine (Px).
Studies have shown that Px, which accounts for the majority of caffeine metabolism in humans, boosts measures of cognition, memory, reasoning, response time and sustained attention. The stimulant is the key component of Rarebird’s marketing strategy, which focuses on mitigating the negative side effects of caffeine, such as increased anxiety, irritability and nervousness.
Rarebird raised $1m as part of 43North’s $5m annual accelerator programme, which provides capital for high-growth startups alongside 12 months free incubator space, mentorship from industry experts and a range of business incentives to help them scale.
In January 2025, Rarebird relocated its corporate headquarters from California to Buffalo, New York, and announced long-term plans to launch its first coffee roastery in the city.
“We couldn’t be more excited for all that’s to come for the business in 2025, with the recent news of our latest capital infusion, corporate relocation and planned startup of our first coffee roastery being just the tip of the iceberg,” said Dietrich.
Rarebird, which patented its coffee in April 2024, also counts AgFunder, DO Venture Partners, First Round Capital and KdT Ventures among its backers.