Chicago-based soluble coffee startup Diamond Brew says it has closed a pre-seed funding round reaching “seven figures” with an investor lineup that includes NFL players and the former president of Republic Records. The exact amount of the funding round was not disclosed.
Founded by Douglas Yu and launched in the United States in August 2024, Diamond Brew describes its core offerings as “brewless” coffee pods while presenting itself as a luxury brand.
The company says it uses a proprietary liquid nitrogen flash-freezing process to create freeze-dried crystals, which are then sealed in the brand’s hexagon-shaped pods for single servings. Users unseal the pods and mix the crystals with hot or cold water.
The new investment round includes G/7 Venture Studio, which is also joining as a strategic partner. The investor group also includes NFL players DeAndre Hopkins and Sean Clifford, as well as music executive Charlie Walk.
Yu, who moved to the U.S. from China and previously worked in food-and-beverage journalism and venture capital, has built the brand primarily through direct-to-consumer channels and social media engagement. The company said he logged more than 2,000 hours on TikTok Live in 2025, using the sessions as real-time market research.
“Those 2,000 hours aren’t just a content strategy, they’re our R&D,” he said in the company’s announcement. “Our customers don’t just buy Diamond Brew, they help build it.”
The company said the new capital will fund additional SKUs, expansion into the military retail channel through the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and continued digital-first growth.
Diamond Brew’s original August 2024 launch was backed by GNC CEO Michael Costello, Dream Ventures, Entrepreneur Ventures and the Kali Mata family office. None of those investors are named in the new round.
Diamond Brew joins a growing field of instant and soluble coffee sellers pitching themselves as premium or higher-quality alternatives to traditional instant coffee.
Daily Coffee News archives show that the specialty instant category has drawn recurring startup activity since the mid-2010s. Sudden Coffee, an early entrant backed by $2.7 million in funding, ceased operations in 2020. Voila, another early player, also shut down. Swift Coffee, founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 2016, has remained active, building a business-to-business processing operation for specialty roasters alongside its consumer line. Waka Coffee & Tea raised $725,000 in 2022 to expand its freeze-dried instant lineup.
Other well-established Third Wave specialty coffee brands — including Blue Bottle, Verve and Intelligentsia — have all conducted high-profile instant coffee rollouts. Meanwhile, other brands have offered complete reinterpretations of the soluble format, such as Cometeer’s frozen soluble coffee pucks and even coffee in a tube.
Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. For all the latest coffee industry news, subscribe to the DCN newsletter.
Related Posts
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
Comment