Venture-backed coffee shop chain Blank Street is in talks to raise an additional $100 million to fuel expansion, the Financial Times has reported.

The youth-oriented chain was valued at around $500 million last year, but people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times it could be valued at close to $1 billion in any new deal.

Blank Street was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 2020 by Issam Freiha and Vinay Menda, both partners at venture capital firm Reshape Ventures. The chain achieved immediate success with its small-format stores, low prices and social-media-friendly drinks.

It has grown rapidly, expanding to the UK in 2022 and now operating 90 locations across the two countries. This has been supported by a series of funding rounds led by venture firms; Blank Street’s 2021 Series A raised $25 million, and its Series B, which closed in 2025, raised the same amount.

Although it is uncommon for a bricks-and-mortar company to attract this level of funding from firms usually drawn to the high returns possible from technology – major investor General Catalyst counts the likes of Airbnb, Stripe and Anduril in its portfolio – the bet appears to be paying off.

Its UK arm achieved profitability for the first time in 2024, with pre-tax profits of £1.3 million and a turnover of £35.8 million. Its total income is not publicly available, but it told the Wall Street Journal it was profitable overall in 2025.

Its successes stand in stark contrast to the struggles of other coffee chains, including UK market leader Costa. Costa’s owner Coca-Cola, cancelled a plan to sell the brand earlier this year after private equity bidders reportedly failed to meet its £2 billion asking price – itself only half of the £3.9 billion Coca-Cola paid for the chain in 2018.

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