Toast is no stranger to fundings upwards of $100M, but today’s $115 million influx was still impressive.
The Boston-based restaurant management platform raised a $115 million Series D round led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. on Tuesday, which will be used to accelerate research and development, as well as to recruit new talent.
“The way restaurants serve their customers is going through a fundamental change, and the technology that enables restaurant operations must respond to these new demands. Toast does this,” said Henry Ellenbogen, portfolio manager of T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, in a statement.
The company, which now employs more than 1,000 people in 30 states, is valued by its latest investor at a whopping $1.4 billion.
The way restaurants serve their customers is going through a fundamental change, and the technology that enables restaurant operations must respond.”
We shouldn’t be too surprised: In November 2017, Toast was ranked as the third-fastest-growing tech company in North America by Deloitte.
In addition to that accolade, last year Toast also raised a $100 million Series C round, expanded its Boston headquarters, opened a Dublin-based office and was included in Forbes’ 2017 Cloud 100, a list that ranks the top 100 private cloud companies in the world.
Founded in 2013, Toast offers restaurants a technology platform that combines restaurant POS, front-of-house and back-of-house tools, as well as guest-facing technology with a suite of third-party apps. The company offers everything from tableside ordering, menu modifications, online ordering and labor management services.
This year, Toast is focusing on expanding its global footprint, opening offices in Portland, Oregon and Omaha, Nebraska to support its growing workforce, which is largely distributed between the company’s Boston headquarters and Dublin offices.
Tiger Global Management, LLC — as well as existing investors — also participated in the round, which brings Toast’s total funding to date to $249 million.
“With close to $800 billion in annual sales and representing nearly 15 million jobs in the U.S., the restaurant industry is a powerful contributor to local economies,” said CEO Christopher Comparato. “As restaurant owners and operators navigate shifting consumer expectations driven by mobility and personalization, they’re selecting Toast as their platform of choice to deliver a guest-first and data-driven experience that increases revenue, streamlines operations and delights guests.”
