Blackbird raises $24 million in Series A Round led by a16z

Blackbird Labs has raised $24 million in Series A Round. The funding was led by a16z with the objective of revolutionizing the way in which the restaurant industry serves its loyal customers. Other participants were Bolt by QED and Amex Ventures. Moving forward, Blackbird will offer innovative ways to help restaurants retain more customers and expand into new markets.

It is imperative to find loyal customers. Providing them with the best experience has been the goal of the industry for a long time. Now, with Blackbird and the recent funding raised, the restaurant industry will integrate platforms that enable them to view the likes and dislikes of returning customers. This is on top of analyzing their favorite tables and incentivizing them for their loyalty.

Ben Leventhal, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Blackbird has said that they love the industry even though it has been through two decades of decline in margins and a fall in the number of customers. This is the first time the industry is facing economic challenges head-on, added Ben, while highlighting that having reputed investors on board definitely adds to efforts to achieve their goals.

Blackbird has partnered with more than 80 restaurants. Its updated offering is live in 22 restaurants already. It is expected that Blackbird will continue to expand into new markets based on the kind of feedback that it has been receiving.

For instance, a large number of restaurants have found the platform easy to use and have the ability to better understand what their customers want and how they make a choice. What really works for restaurants is the statistic of how many times a customer has visited their place. This empowers restaurants to decide how they want to incentivize their visit without skipping the chance of leaving a good impression.

Jon Shook from Jon & Vinny’s has expressed excitement about integrating the new platform. Jon has called the technology impressive, further stating that they will now be able to engage with customers in a better manner.

Customers find Blackbird convenient as well. All they have to do is tap the phone on the NFC reader, enter the phone number, and enjoy one of the best dining experiences.

The native, non-transferable token of the platform is $FLY. It is granted to those who access and utilize the platform. Users don’t need a Web3 wallet. Thus making it more suitable for widespread adoption.

Blackbird intends to adopt $FLY for redemption and accumulation purposes. Customers will be able to choose whether they wish to redeem the token immediately or at a later date.

Matt Sueoka, the Global Head of Amex Ventures, has called Blackbird a compelling platform. They have appreciated Blackbird for the way in which it provides facilities to leverage Web3 to transform the dining experience of a restaurant and its customers.