TouchBistro has raised $158 million CAD in a Series E round of funding that saw participation from a large number of investors.
The round was led by OMERS Growth Equity with participation from Barclays Bank, RBC Ventures, BMO Capital Partners, and existing investors including OMERS Ventures, JPMorgan Chase, Napier Park Financial Partners, BDC IT Venture Fund, and Kensington Capital Partners.
“The global restaurant industry is undergoing a technology renaissance, and TouchBistro is leading the way.”
According to The Globe and Mail, OMERS contributed $100 million to the Series E, its largest investment in a Canadian early-stage tech company, to date. OMERS Ventures also served as the co-led, alongside JPMorgan Chase, in TouchBistro’s $72 million Series D, in 2018.
“The global restaurant industry is undergoing a technology renaissance, and TouchBistro is leading the way in driving the industry forward,” said Alex Barrotti, CEO and founder of TouchBistro. “We have teamed up with some of the largest financial institutions in key markets around the world to provide our customers with enriched payment services and easier access to financial services. We are proud of these strong partnerships and plan to build on this model as we expand our global footprint.”
The Series E financing will be used to help the company further its presence in international markets and increase its team over the next year. TouchBistro also stated that the company will use the funds to acquire “complementary products” that are meant to broaden its platform’s capabilities.
TouchBistro has seen a number of significant venture capital investment rounds. Prior to its 2018 Series D, the company also raised a $16.3 million Series C in May 2017, a $17 million Series B in October 2016, and a $6 million Series A in 2015. The company has raised almost $270 million to date. This raise also follow the trend of large VC rounds in Canadian tech companies so far this year. Last week, Element AI raised a $200 million Series B, and while that marked the Montreal-based AI powerhouse’s largest funding to date, it followed a record-breaking year, including Clio’s $330 million CAD and Sonder’s $274 million CAD.
Toronto-based TouchBistro claims to serve more than 16,000 restaurants in over 100 countries, processing more than $11 billion USD annually. TouchBistro also partners with a number of its recent investors. Last year, the company announced TouchBistro Payments powered by WePay, which is a JPMorgan Chase company. In the most recent quarter, TouchBistro teamed up with Barclaycard to provide its integrated payments in the UK and EVO Payments in Mexico to provide integrated payment solutions.
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“Through this partnership, we anticipate expanded commercial opportunities and distribution across Europe, and improved access to financial services for the restaurant market,” said Rob Cameron, CEO of global payments acceptance at Barclays. “Our equity investment reaffirms our commitment to working with TouchBistro and our belief that the company is very well positioned to capture the opportunities that lie ahead.”
As part of the recent financing deal, OMERS Growth Equity’s managing director and head, Mark Shulgan, is set to join TouchBistro’s board of directors.
OMERS Growth Equity was started in 2018 as the growth equity arm of OMERS, with a focus on making large investments (between $50 million to $250 million) in high-growth companies. OMERS Growth Equity looks to be a long-term investor focused on supporting companies that are scaling, making acquisitions, expanding product lines, or entering into new markets.
“We invest in companies that we believe can grow to be the leaders in their sector,” said Shulgan. “We are also passionate about growth, innovation, and making tomorrow better, three key areas that align with Alex Barrotti’s vision for TouchBistro. Alex and his team have built a high-growth and durable global software business that has led the restaurant industry’s platform shift from legacy POS to mobile and cloud.”