Blackbird Bags $50M for Web3 Restaurant Loyalty App

To help dining establishments build stronger connections with customers, Blackbird Labs secured $50 million in new funding today to expand its blockchain-powered restaurant loyalty and payments platform across the United States.

Fueling Expansion and the New Blackbird Club

The startup, which has already signed up roughly 1,000 restaurants, plans to utilize the newly acquired capital to scale its operations beyond its primary hubs of New York, San Francisco, and Charleston, South Carolina. Additionally, the funds will support the launch of Blackbird Club, a novel cross-restaurant points program designed to incentivize repeat dining experiences.

When asked about the inclusion of Charleston in its core markets, CEO Ben Leventhal explained that the city punches well above its weight class. He noted that Charleston serves as an excellent, high-performing test market for the platform, drawing comparisons to how major tech firms utilize specific regions to pilot new products.

Backed by Heavyweight Investors

The funding round was led by Spark Capital, a new backer for the company. The round also saw continued participation from prominent previous investors, including Coinbase Ventures, Amex Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), all of whom previously backed Blackbird’s $24 million Series A round in 2023. While the startup’s current valuation remains undisclosed, PitchBook notes that Blackbird was valued at approximately $124 million during its previous round. This latest injection brings the company’s total funding to date to $85 million.

Strategic Ties to Amex and Resy

The involvement of Amex and Coinbase highlights the strategic direction of the platform. Amex previously acquired Resy, a reservation platform also founded by Leventhal, in 2019. Although Resy and Blackbird are not integrated at this time, Leventhal indicated that a future integration is highly likely. Leventhal’s entrepreneurial track record also includes founding the food blog Eater, which was ultimately acquired by Vox Media.

How Flynet Uses Blockchain to Cut Fees

Blackbird’s proprietary payment service, Flynet, operates as a layer-three transaction protocol built on Coinbase’s layer-two network, Base. Through the Blackbird app, diners can pay for their meals directly at the table and seamlessly earn or redeem loyalty points during their visits.

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Why On-Chain Technology Matters for Restaurants

With established competitors like Toast, Lightspeed, and Punchh utilizing traditional financial rails, questions have been raised regarding the necessity of blockchain technology for a restaurant loyalty program.

Leventhal conceded that blockchain is not strictly mandatory to build a payment network, pointing out that Visa successfully built its global network on similar principles long before blockchain existed. However, he emphasized that operating on-chain presents unique, long-term advantages. Specifically, it allows consumers to retain true ownership of their personal profiles and data. Furthermore, Blackbird envisions a cooperative model where participating restaurant customers eventually hold equity in the network itself.

Solving the Restaurant Profitability Crisis

Despite having already built two successful companies in the food and tech space, Leventhal remains focused on addressing the deep systemic challenges currently facing the hospitality sector. Changing consumer habits and broader economic pressures have severely impacted restaurant margins in recent years.

Data from the National Restaurant Association indicates that average restaurant profitability has plummeted to under 5%, a steep decline from the 20% averages seen in the early 2000s. While social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram generate massive viral interest in dining, restaurants are forced to navigate these surges amid rising operating costs and heightened consumer price sensitivity—challenges that could intensify with potential tariff increases.

A Network Owned by Restaurants and Diners

This disconnect between high consumer demand and low industry profitability represents a significant market opportunity for tech-driven solutions. Arianna Simpson, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, noted that small, independent restaurant owners are frequently at the mercy of dominant third-party tech platforms that extract high fees and erode thin margins.

Simpson highlighted that blockchain technology can directly improve this margin structure. Blackbird’s decentralized model aims to create a network owned collectively by the restaurants and their patrons. According to Simpson, the platform is already helping participating restaurants save between 3% and 4% on standard credit card processing fees.