Restaurant Workflow AI Lands Seed Round, Venture Zombie Hunters, and Voting with Our Angel Dollars

Happy Friday, I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving. (I’m sending this a day late to avoid distracting you from the festivities!)

In today’s issue:

• A Fun Angel Investor Satisfaction Survey

• Angel Deals of the Week | 116 Deals, 85 Networks

• Bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy

• The best nugget from my conversation with Show Her The Money Executive Producer Catherine Gray

🤔 What Do You Value Most in an Angel Group?

Quick ask: I'm trying to better understand what investors value most from their angel group memberships.

If you’re a current or former member of an angel group, will you take 2 minutes to answer 7 questions?

As thanks, I’ll send you:

• Aggregated report on what angel network members value most

• How your priorities compare to other participating angels

🔥 Angel Deals of the Week

Angel funding rounds announced in recent weeks, compiled from public sources. These deals represent the elite few that survived an angel network’s vetting process. Note: I have not personally analyzed these companies and am sharing for informational purposes only.

📊 Angel Network Investment Tracker: 116 Deals, 85 Networks.

Cellbyte | AI-powered pharmaceutical launch platform

Participating Group: Springboard Health Angels

Cellbyte is developing an AI-driven platform that accelerates pharmaceutical drug launches by centralizing fragmented data and automating regulatory workflows. The Munich-based company helps pharmaceutical teams reduce the typical year-plus delay between drug approval and market availability by streamlining pricing, market access, and Health Technology Assessment processes. Cellbyte recently secured $2.75 million in seed funding led by Frontline Ventures, with participation from Springboard Health Angels, Y Combinator, Pace Ventures, and Saras Capital, and has already announced contracts with Bayer.

Felix Steinbrenner | $2.75M Seed | Munich, Germany | November 2025 | Source

See|Me | AI-powered artist discovery platform

Participating Group: Georgetown Angel Investor Network

See|Me is developing an AI-driven discovery platform connecting emerging artists with collectors and art enthusiasts. The company uses data science and competitive dynamics to help artists gain recognition and commercial opportunities, functioning as a “LinkedIn for the creative community.” With published statistics of over 12,000 member artists and 40,000 submitted works, the platform hosts juried exhibitions at galleries and art fairs in New York and Miami. Georgetown Angel Investor Network recently announced an investment to support platform expansion and audience growth.

Brendan Burns | New York, NY | November 2025 | Source

Science on Call | Workflow AI for restaurants

Participating Group: Charlotte Angel Fund

Science on Call is developing a 24/7 workflow AI platform for restaurants that leverages conversational AI and automation to define, triage, and resolve tech support issues via SMS, WhatsApp, or email. The platform's virtual agent handles tasks like 86ing, password resets, device troubleshooting, and online ordering adjustments with an average resolution time of 25 minutes. Customers include &pizza and PLNT Burger. Charlotte Angel Fund recently announced its seed investment in the company.

Andy Freivogel | Chicago, IL | September 2025 | Source

📣 Have an Angel Deal to Announce?

🔖 Bookmarks

1. 📊 How do Angel Groups Track their Data? Fantastic analysis from Rick Timmins at the Angel Capital Association shows only 29% of small angel groups track investment outcomes and breaks down how to get started.

2. 🧟 Venture Zombie Hunters: Fascinating piece from TechCrunch on why "hold forever" investors are buying up stagnating VC-backed startups and turning them profitable.

3. 🔄 Engineering Viral Loops: a16z’s Andrew Chen breaks down the viral loop playbook from the Web 2.0 era. Very practical, enjoyed this one.

🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from A Conversation with Catherine Gray

What if maximizing IRR isn't the (only) goal? 📽️

When Catherine and her team raised money for Show Her The Money, they attracted investors who cared more about community and cultural change than maximizing financial returns.

This is such an important point, and encapsulates so much of what I love about angel investing. It’s also one of the most frustrating, confusing, and exhausting things about angel investing for people on the outside (read: countless founders, high finance professionals, etc).

What do you mean profit maximization isn’t the goal? That doesn’t make any sense.

Here’s why it does:

1. This is one of the most intimate, personal, human forms of capital deployment. → I write YOU a check directly. No middle man.

2. It’s a tiny percentage of my investable capital (rarely more than 1-10%). → I can afford to lose it. It’s often “fun money”.

3. It’s a unique way to give back (or, as Catherine calls it, “voting with our money”). Sure I could donate to a cause I care about. But what if I could invest in that cause and hold the operator to the same return expectations as any other investment? → The impact is the goal, the method is complementary.

Takeaway: When evaluating your own angel investments, be honest about what you're optimizing for. If it's not purely financial returns, not only is that okay - identifying that truth might lead to better decision-making and greater satisfaction with your portfolio.

Want more? Check out my full conversation with Catherine 👇

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.

Until Next Week 👋

Thanks for reading - have a great weekend.

-Andrew

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, could you do me a quick favor? Hit the "like" button or leave a comment with your thoughts. It may not seem like much, but it really helps me out a ton.

If you’re finding this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend, and consider subscribing if you haven’t already. You can also find me on LinkedIn and X.