Timber Grove Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Timber Grove Ventures (TGV) is an early-stage venture fund focused on "vertical AI for the real economy." The firm backs founders who use AI to reshape traditional, physical-world industries rather than pure software categories — healthcare delivery, food and beverage, franchising and multi-unit operations, real estate, and space technology. TGV's thesis centers on the idea that durable advantage in these markets comes from combining deep domain expertise, proprietary operational data, and real-world industry relationships with modern AI capabilities, rather than from software alone. Co-founder Jeff Safferman has articulated this publicly as "The $8 Trillion AI Opportunity on Main Street," describing consumer services, construction, retail, and hospitality as underserved, AI-ready categories.
Sector Focus
TGV's active sectors include:
- Healthcare and radiology AI (Rad AI)
- Space and satellite technology (Loft Orbital)
- Food, beverage, and CPG distribution (Insomnia Cookies, Jampack AI)
- Franchise and multi-unit brand operations (Delightree)
- Real estate and commercial spaces, including construction and multifamily leasing (Materialspace, Peek)
- Fan engagement and loyalty commerce, with some blockchain-based loyalty infrastructure (Uptop)
TGV describes its target markets as sitting at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds — sectors that are large, labor-intensive, and historically underinvested in modern software and AI tooling.
Stage Focus
The firm invests from early stage through growth, describing its support as spanning "formation to IPO." In practice, disclosed rounds range from $3.2M seed checks (Jampack AI) to $170M Series C rounds (Loft Orbital), with the firm most consistently visible at seed and Series A alongside larger co-investors at growth stage.
Check Size
TGV does not publish a typical check size or fund size. Observed round participation ranges from ~$3M seed rounds to $60M+ Series C rounds, suggesting a flexible check size that scales with the round rather than a fixed range.
Lead Tendency
Across the disclosed 2024–2026 activity, TGV consistently appears as a participating investor alongside a named lead (Maveron led Jampack AI's seed; Moneta Ventures led Peek's Series A; Khosla Ventures led Rad AI's Series B; Tikehau Capital led Loft Orbital's Series C). No confirmed instances of TGV leading a round were found in public sources, so the firm is best characterized as a follower/co-investor rather than a lead investor, though this may undercount unpublicized smaller checks.
Recent Activity
TGV has been active through 2026, with a steady cadence of new investments and portfolio follow-ons:
- August 2026: Backed Delightree's $25M Series A (agentic operating system for franchise and multi-unit brands), alongside Innovius, Accel, and Emergent
- February 2026: Backed Jampack AI's $3.2M seed round (agentic wholesale automation for CPG brands), led by Maveron
- January 2026: Backed Materialspace's $7M seed round (AI for interior construction planning and procurement)
- May 2025: Backed Peek's $5M Series A (e-commerce efficiency for apartment leasing), led by Moneta Ventures
- January 2025: Backed Rad AI's $60M Series C ($525M valuation) and Loft Orbital's $170M Series C (led by Tikehau Capital)
This cadence indicates an actively deploying fund as of mid-2026.
Portfolio Highlights
Notable current and past portfolio companies include:
- Loft Orbital — satellite platform infrastructure, raised a $170M Series C in January 2025 and formed a Middle East joint venture in August 2024
- Rad AI — radiology generative AI, raised a $60M Series C in January 2025 after an earlier $50M Series B led by Khosla Ventures
- Insomnia Cookies — late-night cookie delivery; Krispy Kreme sold its majority stake in 2024 and its remaining stake in 2025
- Sweetgreen — publicly traded fast-casual restaurant chain
- Morning Brew — media company (acquired)
- Wisely — restaurant guest engagement/retail tech platform (acquired)
- Delightree — AI-powered franchise operations platform, raised a $25M Series A in August 2026
- Jampack AI — agentic wholesale automation for CPG brands, processing over $500M in annualized wholesale volume
- Materialspace — AI-driven interior construction planning and procurement for kitchen and bath contractors
- Peek — e-commerce-style virtual leasing platform for multifamily apartments
- Uptop — blockchain-based fan loyalty rewards platform, partnered with the Cleveland Cavaliers and LSU Athletics
Team
- Dan Fleischmann, Managing Partner & Co-Founder — Based in New York City. Previously led technology-sector expansion at Kitchen Fund, backing early consumer tech startups. Earlier M&A experience at Moelis & Company advising founders on transactions. B.S. in Finance, University of Maryland.
- Jeff Safferman, Managing Partner & Co-Founder — Based in Los Angeles. Former executive at CIM Group, a real estate and infrastructure private equity firm with roughly $30B AUM. Prior investment banking experience at RBC Capital Markets and STRH (SunTrust Robinson Humphrey) focused on leveraged buyouts. B.S. in Business Economics and Public Policy, Indiana University.
- Beth Kaplan, Operating Advisor — Consumer retail specialty
- Adam Gibbons, Operating Advisor — Commercial real estate specialty
- Bryan Myers, Operating Advisor — Health & wellness specialty; President and CEO of Solidcore
- Steve Provost, Operating Advisor — Franchising and food services specialty
Decision Process
TGV is a two-person managing-partner partnership (Fleischmann and Safferman), supplemented by a bench of sector-specific operating advisors who appear to support diligence and portfolio value-add rather than make investment decisions directly. This structure suggests a partnership-style decision process rather than a solo GP or formal investment committee.
Founder Preferences
TGV favors founders with deep domain expertise in the physical-world industries they target — for example, twin co-founders with construction-industry fluency at Materialspace, and operator backgrounds among its advisor bench (e.g., a fitness-brand CEO advising on health & wellness deals). The firm emphasizes founders who combine real-world operational insight with the ability to apply AI to entrenched, labor-intensive workflows.
Geographic Focus
TGV is headquartered across two U.S. hubs — New York City (Fleischmann) and Los Angeles (Safferman) — and its disclosed portfolio is entirely U.S.-based, spanning both coasts.