One year after voice-based AI technology company ConverseNow raised a $3.3 million seed round, the company is back with a cash infusion of $15 million in Series A funding in a round led by Craft Ventures. The Austin-based company's AI voice ordering assistants George and Becky work inside quick-serve restaurants to take orders via phone, chat, drive-thru and self-service kiosks, freeing up staff to concentrate on food preparation and customer service. Joining Craft in the Series A round were LiveOak Venture Partners, Tensility Venture Partners, Knoll Ventures, Bala Investments, 2048 Ventures, Bridge Investments, Moneta Ventures and angel investors Federico Castellucci and Ashish Gupta. This new investment brings ConverseNow's total funding to $18.3 million, Vinay Shukla, co-founder and CEO of ConverseNow, told TechCrunch. As part of the investment, Bryan Rosenblatt, partner at Craft Ventures, is joining the company's board of directors, and said in a written statement that "post-pandemic, quick-service restaurants are primed for digital transformation, and we see a unique opportunity for ConverseNow to become a driving force in the space."

All the sessions from Transform 2021 are available on-demand now. ConverseNow, a startup developing a platform that automates orders at quick service drive-thru windows, today announced that it closed a $15 million series A funding round led by Craft Ventures, with participation from LiveOak Venture Partners, Tensility Venture Partners, Knoll Ventures, Bala Investments, 2048 Ventures, Bridge Investments, Moneta Ventures, and angel investors. The proceeds bring the company's total raised to date to $18.3 million, which CEO Vinay Shukla says will be put toward scaling and creating technologies like "digital line-busting" -- some of which will roll out later this year. As restaurants recover from the pandemic, many are reimagining their channel strategy for ordering as well as the in-store guest experience. Labor availability and the supply chain are affecting those decisions, as well as challenges like inaccurate orders.

One year after voice-based AI technology company ConverseNow raised a $3.3 million seed round, the company is back with a cash infusion of $15 million in Series A funding in a round led by Craft Ventures. The Austin-based company's AI voice ordering assistants George and Becky work inside quick-serve restaurants to take orders via phone, chat, drive-thru and self-service kiosks, freeing up staff to concentrate on food preparation and customer service. Joining Craft in the Series A round were LiveOak Venture Partners, Tensility Venture Partners, Knoll Ventures, Bala Investments, 2048 Ventures, Bridge Investments, Moneta Ventures and angel investors Federico Castellucci and Ashish Gupta. This new investment brings ConverseNow's total funding to $18.3 million, Vinay Shukla, co-founder and CEO of ConverseNow, told TechCrunch. As part of the investment, Bryan Rosenblatt, partner at Craft Ventures, is joining the company's board of directors, and said in a written statement that "post-pandemic, quick-service restaurants are primed for digital transformation, and we see a unique opportunity for ConverseNow to become a driving force in the space." At the time when ConverseNow raised its seed funding in 2020, it was piloting its technology in just a handful of stores.