Cornelius, NC – [October 1, 2025] – Bravo Team, one of the fastest-growing automation engineering services and enterprise product development firms in the U.S., today announced a significant growth investment from Cardinal Companies, a Charlotte-based private investment firm. The strategic partnership with Cardinal Companies will accelerate Bravo Team’s ambitious vision, enabling the firm to extend its automation engineering capabilities, penetrate new geographic markets, and pursue targeted acquisitions. This investment also ensures Bravo Team can continue to attract top-tier talent, drive breakthrough innovations, and enhance its infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of its growing client base.
Founded in 2018 by Joshua Tarbutton, Ph.D., Bravo Team has quickly established itself as a premier partner for advanced engineering, automation, and product development. Recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the nation’s fastest-growing privately held businesses, Bravo Team achieved a remarkable 1,287% growth since 2022, ranking among the top 6% on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list, and has emerged as the second-fastest-growing privately held company in Charlotte, NC.
“This partnership crystallizes our vision of being more than just an engineering firm,” said Tarbutton. “This partnership with Cardinal Companies helps us deliver even more value to our client-partners by helping them capitalize on their most complex engineering and innovation opportunities,” added Tom Ryan, CEO of Bravo Team.
Cardinal Companies was founded in 2024 by Ben Rhyne, a Charlotte native with a background in engineering and private equity. Ben holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Engineering as well as an MBA from Stanford University, and brings over a decade of private equity experience to his role as founder and managing partner. Cardinal Companies focuses on investing in engineering-enabled and industrial businesses across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.
This partnership with Bravo Team represents Cardinal’s second investment in 2025, following its investment in SubAir Systems earlier this year. Together, these investments underscore the firm’s commitment to building a portfolio of high-quality growth companies that are shaping the future of engineering and industrial innovation in the region.
“Bravo Team exemplifies the kind of company we seek to partner with: innovative, engineering-driven, and poised for long-term growth,” said Rhyne. “We are excited to work alongside the entire Bravo Team organization to support their next chapter of growth and to continue building momentum for Cardinal Companies as a leading investor in our region.”
For more information, visit Bravo Team’s website at BravoTeam.tech or their LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravo-team-llc.
About Bravo Team
Bravo Team is an innovation engineering firm that transforms complex challenges into breakthrough solutions. Founded in 2018, the company delivers Engineering as a Service through an end-to-end, multidisciplinary approach that integrates seamlessly with its client-partners. Bravo accelerates product development by providing solutions 5X faster and reducing development time by 80%. The firm has partnered with clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies and has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. for three consecutive years (2023-2025).
About Cardinal Companies
Cardinal Companies is a strategic investment firm specializing in engineering-enabled and industrial businesses across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Led by founder and managing partner Ben Rhyne, the firm partners with privately held businesses to drive growth and shareholder value through strategic guidance and collaborative investment approaches.
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