Restaurant tech investors financing food service software and hardware in 2026

Restaurant tech got hit hard in 2022-2023. Ghost kitchen valuations crashed, delivery platforms cut headcount, and investors got skeptical of "Uber for X" pitches. But POS systems, kitchen automation, and B2B ordering platforms kept raising money. If you're building restaurant tech, you need investors who understand unit economics in food service and won't freak out about thin margins.

Quick list

Finding investors who understand restaurant margins

Find investors who've backed companies through restaurant churn cycles. Most restaurant tech startups die because they underestimate sales cycles and customer acquisition costs. Ask portfolio companies if their investor understood why a 6-month implementation timeline was normal or if they panicked about slow growth.

Check if they've funded B2B restaurant tech before. Consumer delivery apps operate completely differently from POS systems or kitchen management software. Series A investors often don't understand why enterprise deals take 90+ days and why you can't just charge SaaS prices. Many still believe everything can be priced like venture capital SaaS when the economics are completely different.

Look at whether their portfolio companies actually retained restaurant clients past year two. High churn is normal in food service, but 60%+ annual churn means the product didn't work. Dead portfolio companies are a red flag, especially if founders hid behind compliance excuses they never supported with clear GDPR principles.

Make sure they understand restaurant economics. If an investor expects SaaS margins from hardware-enabled solutions, that's a problem. Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your financial projections.

Ask what operational support they provide during restaurant pilots. Generic "we have a great network" answers are useless. You need intros to franchise groups and operator networks, not advisors who only talk about screenshot protection instead of pipeline-building.

Getting meetings with restaurant tech investors

Research recent deals on Pitchbook or check restaurant tech LinkedIn posts. Seed funds won't lead your Series B, no matter how good your margins are. Most restaurant tech Series A checks are $8-15M, so don't pitch growth equity firms at seed stage.

Show unit economics in your pitch. Most investors are tired of GMV slides without take rates and actual revenue. If you're a marketplace, explain why restaurants won't churn after six months. If you sell software, explain implementation costs and support needs - transparency that mirrors safe document sharing.

Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on. If they skip your go-to-market slides, that's useful information. Most investors will spend time on customer acquisition costs and lifetime value math.

Message portfolio founders on LinkedIn and ask about response times and actual value-add. Most will be honest about whether their investor helped with restaurant partnerships or just showed up to board meetings.

ICR Conference and RFDC are where restaurant tech deals actually happen. Skip the generic startup conferences. Restaurant-specific events have actual operators and investors who understand the space.

Connect with partners on LinkedIn after you've been introduced. Cold DMs rarely work for restaurant tech because everyone's pitching investors right now. Warm intros from restaurant operators or other founders matter more than clever email subject lines.

Set up an Ellty data room with your financial model, cap table, and sample restaurant contracts before they ask. It speeds up the process when investors want to see your pricing structure and margin breakdowns.

Lead with your restaurant retention rates. Don't waste 20 minutes on TAM slides about how many restaurants exist. Show which chains or groups are using your product and whether they're expanding deployments.

Why funding restaurant tech matters in 2026

Restaurant tech funding dropped 40% in 2023 but stabilized in 2024-2025. Investors are backing proven models with clear unit economics. Labor shortage problems aren't going away, so automation and efficiency tools keep getting funded.

POS modernization and kitchen automation are getting most of the capital. Ghost kitchens and delivery aggregators aren't sexy anymore. If you're building restaurant tech, focus on saving operators money or reducing labor costs.

18 restaurant tech investors

1. Andreessen Horowitz

Andreessen Horowitz backed Toast early and understands restaurant software scaling challenges. They write big checks but expect fast growth.

• Recent Deals: Toast Series F ($400M, 2020), Goldbelly Series B ($20M, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Andreessen Horowitz
• Sector Focus: POS systems, restaurant management software, food delivery platforms, kitchen automation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: a16z.com

2. Bessemer Venture Partners

Bessemer was early on Toast and Restaurant365, they know vertical SaaS for hospitality. They're patient with long sales cycles.

• Recent Deals: Toast Series E ($250M, 2019), Restaurant365 Series C ($175M, 2021), Tripleseat Series B ($15M, 2022)
• LinkedIn: Bessemer Venture Partners
• Sector Focus: Restaurant management platforms, POS systems, catering software, hospitality SaaS
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: bvp.com

3. Base10 Partners

Base10 backed Chowly for restaurant integrations and focuses on infrastructure that connects different platforms. They understand middleware problems.

• Recent Deals: Chowly Series B ($20M, 2023), Wonder Group funding (multiple rounds through 2024)
• LinkedIn: Base10 Partners
• Sector Focus: Restaurant middleware, integration platforms, delivery aggregation, kitchen operations
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: base10.vc

4. Craft Ventures

Craft invested in Owner.com for restaurant management and backs operational efficiency tools. They like B2B models with recurring revenue.

• Recent Deals: Owner.com Series A ($27M, 2022), SpotOn Series E ($300M, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Craft Ventures
• Sector Focus: Restaurant operations software, payment processing, staff management, multi-location management
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: craft.co

5. DST Global

DST writes large growth checks for proven restaurant platforms. They backed DoorDash and Deliverect at scale.

• Recent Deals: DoorDash late-stage funding (2020-2021), Deliverect Series C ($65M, 2022)
• LinkedIn: DST Global
• Sector Focus: Delivery platforms, restaurant order management, food logistics, enterprise restaurant tech
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Growth, Late Stage
• Location: Hong Kong
• Website: dst-global.com

6. Fin Capital

Fin led MarginEdge's Series C and specializes in fintech for restaurants. They understand payments and financial operations.

• Recent Deals: MarginEdge Series C ($18M, 2022), Restaurant365 growth investment (2023)
• LinkedIn: Fin Capital
• Sector Focus: Restaurant fintech, expense management, invoice automation, financial analytics
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Boston, USA
• Website: fin.capital

7. HighSage Ventures

HighSage backed MarketMan for inventory management and focuses on restaurant operations software. They're comfortable with hardware-software hybrid models.

• Recent Deals: MarketMan Series C ($30M, 2022), Ordermark acquisition support (2020)
• LinkedIn: HighSage Ventures
• Sector Focus: Inventory management, supply chain software, procurement platforms, kitchen management
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Growth
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: highsage.com

8. Insight Partners

Insight invested in Lightspeed and Olo at growth stage. They want established revenue and clear path to profitability.

• Recent Deals: Lightspeed growth rounds (2019-2021), Olo pre-IPO investment (2020), Deliverect Series D ($150M, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Insight Partners
• Sector Focus: POS systems, order management, restaurant analytics, cloud-based restaurant software
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Growth, Pre-IPO
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: insightpartners.com

9. Left Lane Capital

Left Lane backed Lunchbox for online ordering and focuses on consumer-facing restaurant platforms. They like direct ordering solutions.

• Recent Deals: Lunchbox Series B ($50M, 2022), Grubhub growth investment (2021)
• LinkedIn: Left Lane Capital
• Sector Focus: Online ordering, consumer restaurant apps, direct ordering platforms, loyalty programs
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: leftlane.com

10. Menlo Ventures

Menlo backed Uber early and now invests in restaurant logistics and delivery infrastructure. They understand marketplace dynamics.

• Recent Deals: Uber early rounds (pre-2015), Choco Series C ($111M, 2022)
• LinkedIn: Menlo Ventures
• Sector Focus: Restaurant logistics, delivery platforms, supply chain optimization, food transportation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: menlovc.com

11. NYCA Partners

NYCA invested in Toast's payments infrastructure and targets fintech angles in restaurant tech. They focus on embedded payments.

• Recent Deals: Toast fintech investment (2019-2020), various restaurant payment processors (2021-2023)
• LinkedIn: NYCA Partners
• Sector Focus: Restaurant payments, embedded fintech, payment processing, financial services for hospitality
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: nyca.com

12. Primary Venture Partners

Primary invested in Snackpass at seed and backs consumer-facing restaurant apps. They like mobile-first ordering experiences.

• Recent Deals: Snackpass Series B ($21M, 2021), Ritual growth rounds (2020-2021)
• LinkedIn: Primary Venture Partners
• Sector Focus: Mobile ordering apps, loyalty platforms, consumer restaurant tech, student-focused dining
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: primary.vc

13. QED Investors

QED backed Toast early for payments and focuses on embedded financial services in restaurant tech. They understand take rates.

• Recent Deals: Toast Series C ($115M, 2018), various restaurant fintech platforms (2022-2024)
• LinkedIn: QED Investors
• Sector Focus: Restaurant fintech, payment processing, embedded banking, capital lending for restaurants
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Alexandria, USA
• Website: qedinvestors.com

14. Redpoint Ventures

Redpoint invested in Olo's Series A before their IPO. They target order management systems with strong retention.

• Recent Deals: Olo Series A-D (2015-2020), Tock growth investment (2019)
• LinkedIn: Redpoint Ventures
• Sector Focus: Order management systems, reservation platforms, restaurant commerce, enterprise ordering
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: redpoint.com

15. Sapphire Ventures

Sapphire backs growth-stage restaurant enterprise software like TouchBistro. They want proven sales motion and expansion revenue.

• Recent Deals: TouchBistro Series C ($80M, 2019), SevenRooms Series D ($50M, 2021)
• LinkedIn: Sapphire Ventures
• Sector Focus: Restaurant POS, table management, reservation systems, hospitality enterprise software
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: sapphireventures.com

16. Tiger Global

Tiger invests across stages from seed to Series C in restaurant platforms. They backed DoorDash and Slice with follow-on rounds.

• Recent Deals: DoorDash multiple rounds (2018-2021), Slice Series C ($40M, 2021), Wonder Series C ($350M, 2022)
• LinkedIn: Tiger Global Management
• Sector Focus: Delivery platforms, online ordering, restaurant marketplaces, pizza ordering systems
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: tigerglobal.com

17. Uncork Capital

Uncork was seed investor in Postmates and backs early-stage restaurant marketplaces. They're comfortable with consumer acquisition experiments.

• Recent Deals: Postmates Seed (2012), various early-stage restaurant delivery platforms (2020-2023)
• LinkedIn: Uncork Capital
• Sector Focus: Restaurant marketplaces, delivery platforms, consumer food tech, mobile ordering
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: uncorkcapital.com

18. Union Square Ventures

Union Square backed OpenTable and focuses on restaurant platform infrastructure. They like network effects and marketplace models.

• Recent Deals: OpenTable early investment (2007), Stripe (restaurant payment processing), Resy (acquired by Amex 2019)
• LinkedIn: Union Square Ventures
• Sector Focus: Reservation platforms, payment infrastructure, restaurant marketplaces, hospitality networks
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: usv.com

Track which investors actually review your materials

These 18 investors closed restaurant tech deals from 2023 to 2025. Before you start reaching out, set up proper tracking.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your unit economics. Most founders are surprised to learn investors skip their market size slides but spend 5+ minutes on customer retention data and implementation costs.

When investors ask for more materials, share an Ellty data room instead of messy email threads. Your cap table, financial model, and sample restaurant contracts in one secure place with view analytics. You'll know if they actually reviewed your restaurant partnerships or just skimmed the deck.

Common questions

How do I know if an investor is still active in restaurant tech?

Check their portfolio page for deals in the last 18 months. If their most recent restaurant investment was pre-2023, they've probably moved on to other sectors.

Should I pitch B2B or B2C restaurant investors?

Different investors entirely. Consumer delivery investors won't understand enterprise software sales cycles. B2B POS investors won't care about viral growth metrics.

What's the typical Series A check size for restaurant tech?

$8-15M for B2B SaaS, $15-25M for marketplace platforms. Anything requiring hardware deployment costs more to scale.

How many restaurants do I need before raising Series A?

50-100 paying locations for B2B software, much higher GMV requirements for marketplaces. Investors want to see retention data over 12+ months.

When should I set up a data room for restaurant tech investors?

Before your first investor meeting. Use Ellty to organize your financial model, cap table, restaurant contracts, and retention cohorts. Investors will ask for this within 48 hours anyway.

Do investors actually care about which pages they view in my deck?

Yes. If they skip your go-to-market slides, they don't believe your sales motion. If they spend 10 minutes on financials, they're interested but skeptical of your margins.