Ben Leventhal’s latest food-focused startup just raised $24 million to put restaurants’ customer data on the blockchain

On Wednesday, the company announced a $24 million funding round led by a16z, with participation from AMEX Ventures and fintech investor Bolt by QED, as well as Union Square Ventures, Shine, Variant and several restaurant groups.Leventhal told wealth The funds provide the company with significant runway and will be used to expand operations and marketing.

Running a restaurant has always been a struggle, but the pandemic has clearly made it worse.according to national restaurant association85% of restaurant operators said their businesses are now less profitable than in 2019, despite a rebound in people dining out.

Blackbird CEO Leventhal said that Blackbird is built on Coinbase’s Layer-2 Base blockchain and can help restaurants use customer data to improve profitability. wealth.

“For Blackbird, it really starts with that connectivity, giving restaurants the opportunity to understand who their best customers are, who their potential best customers are, and to get in front of those people, connect with them and communicate with them. .working with them in a very direct and effective way,” he explained.

Customers entering participating restaurants can tap their phones on an NFC (near field communication) reader to create a Blackbird membership in the form of an NFT. By partnering with Web3 company Privy, users can quickly obtain a self-service crypto wallet by simply entering their phone number. As customers continue to visit participating restaurants, they will earn FLY points, the company’s own cryptocurrency, which will soon be redeemable for perks such as discounts, special dishes, or access to private events.

In just a few months, the company added about 100 restaurant customers and fully integrated its technology into 22 of them. Leventhal said he hopes to recruit thousands more next year.

“It’s seamless,” he added, “and hopefully it feels like magic.”