NEW YORK — Blackbird Labs, a hospitality technology company whose platform helps restaurants directly connect and reward their guests, has raised a $24 million Series A round. The round was led by a16z, with participation from Amex Ventures and Bolt by QED, as well as the company’s previous seed investors like Union Square Ventures, Shine, Variant, plus leading restaurant groups: Quality Branded, Rustic Canyon Family, Souvla and Brooks Reitz. The new funding will help Blackbird scale operations as it meets an ever growing need from leading restaurants across the country for an all new solution that will help them drive customer loyalty and create new revenue streams.
“We’ve just experienced two decades of declining margins and eroding direct customer relationships in the restaurant industry,” said Ben Leventhal, founder and CEO of Blackbird. “I love this industry, but it is time to face industry economic challenges head-on and make bold changes. Loyalty and connectivity are the next frontier and we’re excited to be leading on this path forward. Adding incredible investors like a16z, Amex Ventures and Bolt by QED will be crucial to us achieving our goals.”
In just a few short months, Blackbird has struck a chord with over 80 leading restaurants in the industry, with 22 restaurants already live. This set includes New York restaurants like: Anton’s, Corner Bar, Crown Shy, Di An Di, Ensenada, Ernesto’s, estela, Fish Cheeks, Freeman’s, Francie, gertrude’s, Hanoi House, Joseph Leonard, Momofuku, Nami Nori, Principe, Overstory, and SAGA; Jon & Vinny’s (LA), Souvla (San Francisco), Daytrip (Oakland), Little Jack’s Tavern (Charleston), The Daily (Charleston), Melfi’s (Charleston), Razza Pizza (Jersey City). All of these restaurants have chosen the platform for its ease of use and ability to help them better understand their customers.
With Blackbird’s advanced platform, restaurants can seamlessly gather insights, including their diners’ likes and dislikes, where they prefer to sit, and how many times they’ve visited the establishment. As today’s dining landscape becomes increasingly fragmented, with little direct connectivity between guests and restaurants, Blackbird’s technology helps restaurants get to really know their patrons. Operators can consistently surprise and delight their customers, while giving them the special feeling that they are very important and appreciated regulars, sparking increased and ongoing loyalty to the restaurant.
“We are excited about adding Blackbird into our restaurants,” said Jon Shook of Jon & Vinny’s. “This impressive technology will actively help us serve and engage our great customers on an even deeper level, and, in turn, allow them to further invest in their relationships with our restaurants. It’s a journey we’re thrilled to take together.”
For diners, Blackbird is also incredibly easy to use. When customers arrive at a restaurant, they simply tap their phone on a Blackbird NFC reader and enter their phone number to create their membership. From there they start leveling up their regular status with each subsequent tap-in, thus unlocking benefits and insider perks like surprise off menu items and even a direct SMS concierge. They also earn $FLY, Blackbird’s non-transferable native token, which opens up a world of possibility. Diners can use their $FLY to power up for specific items they might want or they can also use them for membership rewards with a specific restaurant. Blackbird users also don’t need to have a pre-existing web3 wallet. The company works with Privy to provide embedded wallets, so users who simply sign in with their phone number get a self-custodial wallet for use. Users are able to manage their memberships, view $FLY balance, monitor recent activity and message restaurants all through the Blackbird app.
