News

Olo receives $40M investment

Olo, a maker of digital ordering and delivery solutions for multi-location restaurants, has received a $40 million minority investment from The Raine Group, a global merchant bank focused exclusively on technology, media and telecommunications.

January 21, 2016

Olo, a maker of  digital ordering and delivery solutions for multi-location restaurants, received a $40 million minority investment from The Raine Group, a global merchant bank focused exclusively on technology, media and telecommunications. The funds will be used to continue Olo’s growth and to further enhance and develop its offerings, according to a company press release.

Olo's digital commerce platform powers mobile, web and telephone ordering for more than 150 major restaurant brands, representing over 20,000 stores nationwide. The company’s platform offers reliability, security and performance, and is integrated with point-of-sale, payment processing and loyalty solutions, the release stated. In addition to its enterprise-grade ordering engine, Olo offers fully branded sites and mobile apps so that customers can receive faster, more accurate, and more personal service, while helping restaurants to maximize revenue per square foot.

"Our goal is to build a major independent company that helps to reinvent the way restaurants and other local retailers do business in the digital age," said Noah Glass, Olo founder and CEO. "We're thrilled that Raine shares our vision and look forward to utilizing its significant experience in the technology space to further grow our business to the benefit of our restaurant partners and their customers."

In connection with the transaction, Colin Neville and Brandon Gardner of The Raine Group will join the Olo Board.

"Olo was ahead of its time when it envisioned a digital ordering engine in 2005 and through years of developing its product and building relationships with leading restaurant brands has established itself as the industry leader," Neville said. "Now, with secular tailwinds driving the inevitable shift to digital ordering, Olo'' users and sales volume are both more than doubling on an annual basis. We see a long runway in the firm’s core ordering platform and believe its new initiatives will resonate with clients. Olo is extremely well positioned and we are delighted to partner with Noah and the team."

Dispatch, Olo's latest venture, provides restaurant operators with the ability to add on-demand delivery to their digital ordering program without having to build their own delivery fleet. Dispatch facilitates access to a growing national network of independent Delivery Service Providers through a single system, the release stated. For each new delivery order, Dispatch collects real-time price quotes, chooses the best available and extends the option to the consumer. Restaurants are enabled to rapidly deploy delivery at scale with a service that is integrated into their point-of-sale platform and kitchen production systems, while maintaining a sovereign relationship with guests on their own digital ordering properties.