Ground Control
Ground Control is a San Francisco-based hardware company, founded in 2013, that designs and sells a specialty-coffee batch brewer targeted at cafés, roasters, and specialty-coffee operators. Led by co-founders Eli Salomon (CEO) and Joshua Avins (CTO), it employs 11-50 staff.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2025
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Ground Control does
Ground Control is a San Francisco-based private company founded in 2013 that designs and sells the Ground Control Batch Brewer, a piece of specialty-coffee equipment pitched as a differentiated, more flavorful and efficient alternative to conventional batch brewing methods for specialty-coffee operators. The company operates as a small, founder-led business with 11-50 employees and is led by co-founders Eli Salomon (CEO) and Joshua Avins (CTO); the technical founder pairing suggests an engineering-led product development model.
The underlying product is a hardware brewer targeting the specialty coffee vertical, where customers are typically cafés, roasters, and coffee-forward hospitality venues that prioritize cup quality and brewing consistency in higher-volume service environments. Distribution appears consistent with a direct-to-specialty channel model, given the niche positioning and lack of disclosure of broad retail or OEM partnerships.
The business model centers on selling specialized batch-brewing equipment into the specialty coffee segment; the firmographics do not disclose list pricing, recurring revenue streams (such as consumables, service contracts, or software subscriptions), or named customer accounts. Public information available on the company is sparse beyond the firmographic profile, the leadership team, and the product description, leaving revenue mechanics, channel structure, and installed base largely unverified.
Ground Control firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ground Control
- Legal name
- Live Draw HK
- Website
- https://groundcontrol.coffee
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2025
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Ground Control is a San Francisco-based hardware company, founded in 2013, that designs and sells a specialty-coffee batch brewer targeted at cafés, roasters, and specialty-coffee operators. Led by co-founders Eli Salomon (CEO) and Joshua Avins (CTO), it employs 11-50 staff.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ground Control industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Coffee Brewing Equipment
- akta.pro primary industry
- Coffee, Espresso & Tea Appliances Retail (CRACADAC)
Keywords
Where Ground Control is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Ground Control business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Ground Control product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ground Control designs, manufactures, and sells the Ground Control Batch Brewer, a commercial coffee brewing machine purpose-built to batch brew specialty coffee more efficiently and with higher flavor quality than conventional batch brewers. The product is sold to specialty coffee operators such as cafes and coffee shops for use in high-volume service environments.
Product overview
The company offers a single unified service focused on live broadcasting of Hong Kong lottery results. The core product is Live Draw HK, which streams Hongkong Pools and Lotto draw results in real-time, providing transparency and trust for players.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ground Control Batch Brewer
Companies that use Ground Control
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Ground Control technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Ground Control partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves1 record
Ground Control competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Marco Beverage Systems: Marco designs and builds specialty commercial coffee brewing systems, including batch brewers for premium cafes in Europe and the U.S. It is directly comparable on product category and target customer.
- BUNN: BUNN is a major commercial coffee brewing equipment maker with deep penetration in foodservice and specialty coffee shops. Its batch brewers are an anchor product in the same category Ground Control targets.
- Wilbur Curtis: Wilbur Curtis is one of the largest U.S. commercial coffee equipment manufacturers, with a broad batch-brewer lineup used in cafes, restaurants, and convenience stores. It is directly comparable to Ground Control as a channel and end-user competitor.
- Fetco: Fetco is a long-established U.S. manufacturer of commercial coffee batch brewers for cafes, hotels, and foodservice. It competes head-to-head with Ground Control in the specialty batch-brew category with overlapping customer profiles.
Emerging players
- Fellow Products: Fellow is a specialty coffee equipment brand best known for its consumer/ prosumer pour-over kettles and grinders, with growing commercial relevance. It targets the same specialty coffee operator and enthusiast base that Ground Control serves.
Others
- Hario: Hario is a Japanese maker of specialty coffee and tea equipment (V60 drippers, scales, servers). It is an adjacent ecosystem supplier for the same specialty coffee shops and baristas that Ground Control's batch brewer targets.
- Chemex: Chemex is a heritage specialty coffee brewer brand used widely in third-wave cafes and homes. It occupies an adjacent pour-over/coffee-equipment position in the same specialty ecosystem Ground Control addresses.
Broad incumbents
- Slayer Espresso: Slayer builds high-end commercial espresso machines for specialty coffee shops globally. It is a premium incumbent in the same cafe-equipment purchase context though focused on espresso rather than batch brewing.
- La Marzocco: La Marzocco is a heritage premium espresso equipment maker with deep specialty coffee credentials and a global cafe-installed base. It serves overlapping specialty-coffee customers with a different (espresso) primary workflow but in the same purchasing decisions.
- Sanremo Coffee Machines: Sanremo is a European manufacturer of professional espresso and coffee machines distributed into specialty cafes worldwide. It competes for the same cafe capex budgets as Ground Control across a broader coffee portfolio.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Ground Control financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ground Control leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Ground Control funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ground Control M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ground Control
What does Ground Control do?
Ground Control designs, manufactures, and sells the Ground Control Batch Brewer, a commercial coffee brewing machine purpose-built to batch brew specialty coffee more efficiently and with higher flavor quality than conventional batch brewers. The product is sold to specialty coffee operators such as cafes and coffee shops for use in high-volume service environments.
Is Ground Control a public or private company?
Ground Control is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Ground Control founded?
Ground Control was founded in 2025. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Ground Control based?
Ground Control is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Ground Control's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Marco Beverage Systems, BUNN, Wilbur Curtis and Fetco. Fellow Products is listed as an emerging player. Others are Hario and Chemex. Broad incumbents are Slayer Espresso, La Marzocco and Sanremo Coffee Machines.
Does Ground Control have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ground Control.
What industry is Ground Control in?
Ground Control's product category is Commercial Coffee Brewing Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRACADAC, Coffee, Espresso & Tea Appliances Retail.