Hospitality technology company Blackbird Labs has secured $24m in its Series A funding round, led by a16z crypto, to scale its operations.
The funding round was also joined by Amex Ventures and Bolt by QED, as well as Blackbird’s previous seed investors Shine, Union Square Ventures and Variant.
It also saw participation from restaurant groups such as Quality Branded, Rustic Canyon Family, Souvla and Brooks Reitz.
Amex Ventures global head Matt Sueoka said: "Blackbird offers a compelling new platform with the potential to evolve how restaurants deliver on loyalty and supercharge the insights they need to thrive.
"We are thrilled to back Blackbird as they explore how to leverage web3 technology to positively transform the dining experience for consumers and the restaurant industry."
Blackbird offers a fully customisable loyalty programming platform that helps restaurants directly connect and reward their guests.
The platform also helps restaurants drive customer loyalty and create new revenue streams.
Blackbird plans to use the new funding to expand its offering into new markets.
The firm noted that its advanced platform allows restaurants to seamlessly gather customers’ insights, including their diners' likes and dislikes and incentivise them to return repeatedly.
Customers can create their membership by entering their phone number and tapping their phone on a Blackbird NFC scanner when they enter a restaurant.
With each subsequent use, customers start levelling up to their regular status, which unlocks benefits and insider perks such as surprise off-menu items.
Blackbird also plans to use the new funding to launch new features such as $FLY Redemption, which allows consumers to use their collected $FLY points to "power up" and redeem perks at participating Blackbird restaurants.
The firm plans to unveil an all-new referral programme to enable diners to share a link with their friend to become members at a specific restaurant to gain access to exclusive offerings.
In a press statement, Blackbird said: “Diners will also be able to opt into global data sharing, where restaurants will gain visibility into their full dining history and any associated insights, in exchange for providing more $FLY on regular dining activity like tap-ins.”
