Unicorn, a tech-enabled platform for spirits and wine collectors globally, announced a seed funding round totaling $5.8 million. And the company is being backed by a combination of institutional investors, including Protagonist, Blue Equity, 640 Oxford, Middleton Partners, and noteworthy angels like Jason Pritzker, Edward Lando, Andrew Macdonald, Ken Fredrickson (Master Sommelier), the Wirtz and Merinoff Families, and co-founders of VII(N)-The Seventh Estate: Asani Swann and NBA All-Star and entrepreneur, Carmelo Anthony, further validating Unicorn’s entrance into the world of spirits and wine.
Launched by early Uber alumni Phil Mikhaylov (CEO) and Kenny Tsai (COO) – in collaboration with Chicago hospitality veterans Cody Modeer (Chief Business Officer) and AJ Heindel (Chief Product Officer) – Unicorn provides consumers with a comprehensive solution to discover, buy, sell, vault, and digitally track their favorite spirits and wines.
Unicorn’s platform enables consumers worldwide to buy, sell, store, and digitally manage collections through an intuitive online and app-based platform. And since being founded, Unicorn has experienced significant growth, facilitating 3.2+ million total bids, nearing $100M in lifetime platform sales, and vaulting hundreds of thousands of bottles from around the globe. The Unicorn Vault also offers state-of-the-art storage solutions, global logistics, and unparalleled security while enabling digital collection management.
This year, Unicorn will utilize its peer-to-peer spirits and wine marketplace to offer customers, brands, and distributors key industry analytics, market insights, valuations, and transparency. And through investments in blockchain and RFID technology, Unicorn will give users proof of ownership—allowing institutions and individuals to digitally transact around the globe. The company plans to invest in further developing the platform, expanding marketing efforts to broaden its customer base, launching new business lines, and growing its team locally at its Chicago headquarters.
KEY QUOTES:
“We founded Unicorn to modernize the spirits and wine industry while improving every step of the customer experience. Growth has been explosive; I’m pleasantly surprised to see how many people have heard of us and how quickly we found product-market fit. Unicorn is on a mission to be the globally trusted marketplace for discovering, buying, selling, and vaulting, spirits and wine. With cutting-edge technology, operations, and data at our core, we’re dedicated to transforming the customer experience for the benefit of all, and becoming a trusted data partner for producers and distributors.”
- Phil Mikhaylov (co-founder and CEO)
“It’s rare to find companies that have achieved almost $100 million in platform sales while continuing to maintain a low profile. Given their limited resources and ambitious vision, we were impressed by how lean and disciplined the Unicorn team was. It’s only a matter of time before they set the new standard for the industry as they expand internationally, add new categories, and continue to innovate.”
- George Bousis, Co-Founder of Protagonist
