In a move that could reshape how restaurants manage customer engagement and loyalty, New York-based startup Blackbird Labs has secured $50 million in fresh funding to expand its blockchain-driven platform for payments and rewards.
Founded by Ben Leventhal, a familiar figure in the hospitality-tech scene and the mind behind both Eater and Resy (the latter now owned by American Express), Blackbird fuses customer loyalty with transactional ease — and wraps it all in blockchain architecture. The aim? To help restaurants encourage repeat business while shaving off some of the costs and inefficiencies that have long plagued the sector.
Currently active in New York, San Francisco, and the more unexpected locale of Charleston, South Carolina, Blackbird claims to have signed up over 1,000 restaurants. The latest round of investment, led by Spark Capital with backing from Coinbase Ventures, Amex Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz, will support a broader rollout and the launch of a cross-restaurant loyalty initiative known as the Blackbird Club.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Leventhal described Charleston as a surprisingly fertile ground for testing new ideas. “Charleston punches above its class,” he said. “It’s a great restaurant city for its size.”
Though the company declined to share its current valuation, PitchBook previously estimated its worth at $124 million following its $24 million Series A in 2023. This latest round brings total capital raised to $85 million.
At the core of Blackbird’s offering is Flynet, a layer-three transaction system built atop Coinbase’s BASE protocol. It allows diners to pay directly at the table via the app and earn loyalty rewards — all while leveraging blockchain infrastructure that promises both speed and security.
But is the use of blockchain necessary? Critics might say no, given that rivals such as Toast, Lightspeed, and Punchh provide similar services built on traditional payment rails. Even Leventhal concedes that blockchain isn’t strictly essential: “Visa’s network, more or less, was created using the same principles that we’re using for Flynet,” he noted.
Nevertheless, he argues the decision to build “on-chain” opens up significant long-term possibilities — particularly in terms of data ownership and equity distribution. “Consumers will be able to continue to own that profile,” Leventhal said, adding that restaurants themselves will eventually become shareholders in the Blackbird ecosystem.
This concept of co-ownership resonates with backers like Arianna Simpson, general partner at a16z crypto, who believes blockchain can realign the economic dynamics of the hospitality sector. “Ben’s vision is for a network that is owned by the restaurants and the diners themselves — something that only blockchains enable,” she said.
For Leventhal, the drive to support restaurants comes not only from entrepreneurial instinct, but also from an understanding of how volatile the industry has become. According to the National Restaurant Association, profitability has dipped below 5% — a far cry from the healthier 20% margins seen in the early 2000s.
The paradox is striking: in an era of social media-driven food obsession, many restaurants are battling razor-thin margins and rising operational costs. Viral buzz may fill tables, but it doesn’t necessarily balance the books.
“There is a disconnect in the restaurant industry between the popularity and the intensity of consumer love for restaurants and ultimately the profitability of the industry,” Leventhal said.
If that disconnect spells opportunity for tech platforms, Blackbird’s proposition is clear: cut out the middlemen, reduce payment friction, and reward loyalty — all on a shared, decentralised network.
As the race to modernise hospitality continues, Blackbird may just be serving up one of the most ambitious recipes yet.
