Blackbird flies at $ 50 million to apply Blockchain -based payment for restaurants

The founder who carved a name for himself collected building products to help restaurants to communicate better with potential Denzers 50 million dollars to start its last operation: a new experience on the idea of ​​customer loyalty.

Blackbird laboratories She built the Blockchain-Meets-Loyalty-Loyalty platform for restaurants to develop repeated business while reducing some friction about transactions. Now, with about 1000 restaurants, CEO Ben Leventhal said that Blackbird plans to use funds to launch its latest products, which is a crossed “points” service inviting it to Blackbird Club, as well as expanding more markets outside New York (Homebase), San Francisco, Charleson, South Carolina.

(Charleston, you ask?

Spark Capital, a new supporter, leads this last round, with the participation of Coinbase Ventures, Amex Ventures and Andressen Horowitz, three investors who supported BlackBird in them $ 24 million series A in 2023. The evaluation is not detected but for a reference point, Pitchbook notes The startup is estimated at $ 124 million in that last round. The startup raised $ 85 million to a date.

Coinbase and Amex are strategic names in that list.

Amex got a Resy, a previously founded reservation platform, In 2019. Levental said that the two companies – Resy and BlackBird – are not integrating now, but “it is fair to say that we will do.” Before Resy, Leventhal, which focuses on the third restaurants, is obtained the Food Blog Eater, too: it’s now Part of Fox. There are no plans on how and if the partnership is there.

Meanwhile, Blackbird describes the FlyNet payment service as a Coinbase’s coefficient protocol a base. Religions can use it to pay the price of meals on the table via the Blackbird app, as well as to recover the loyalty points when visiting restaurants.

It should be noted that Blockchain was a necessary part of this mix? There are a lot of loyalty and other payment programs on the market – including a direct competitor for Blackbird such as Punchh, Toast, LightSpeed, etc. – based on more traditional financial structures.

“I do not necessarily think that” should be based on Blockchain, “said Linteal.

But he also pointed out that “there are some things that we believe that over time will be important opportunities, and those opportunities will be based on being in the series.” He said this includes how Blackbird and restaurants carry customer profiles and activities. “Consumers will be able to continue to own this file.” He also said how to portray Blackbird to share with restaurants, he said: Every restaurant client will eventually be a contributor to Blackbird.

You may think that with the presence of startups dedicated to the side facing the consumer from the restaurant trade, which may be filling it. As it turned out, it is still hungry for more.

Restaurants have always had a difficult institution, but the economy and changing customs customs have led to the establishment of the world of restaurants in the past few years in particular.

Leventhal is cite the numbers that note that the average profitability of restaurants these days is less than 5 %, compared to an average of about 20 % in the early nurseies. While platforms like Instagram and Tiktok have turned the world into the lovers of the chair, where it produces legions of people who flow virus into the latest and most wonderful café, they do this amid a time of rapidly fallen margins and the increasing sensitivity.

“There is a separation in the manufacture of restaurants between the popularity and the intensity of consumer love for restaurants and ultimately the profitability of the industry,” he said.

This separation, of course, in emerging thinking means the opportunity.

“The restaurant industry consists of millions of local business owners around the world. These restaurants are at the mercy of technology platforms that can impose large fees, and often grow, often from the margin of the restaurant,” said Ariana Simpson General in the A16z in A16z in A16z Crypto. She believes this specifically as Blockchain can play a role: improving margin structure. “Ben’s vision is for a network owned by restaurants and Denz themselves, and this is something only Blockchains.” Today, Blackbird is already providing 3-4 % of the payment processing fees.