SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL / ACCESSWIRE / May 31, 2022 / OlaClick, the platform that seeks to support restaurants globally by giving them a tool that allows them to create a free personalized website to channel, organize, and multiply their orders, has closed a $4.4M investment round led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused venture fund. Other participating investors are Meta, Delivery Hero Ventures, Tribe Capital, Caffeinated Capital, Goodwater Capital, Graph Ventures, and QAPU Ventures.
"This investment will allow us, in addition to strengthening the engineering and product team, to develop new functionalities focused on payment management, integrations, and logistics. Last year, we processed $35M in commission-free orders and we plan to close this year with $200M" says José Rico, Co-founder of OlaClick.
"We're thrilled to support OlaClick's passionate and talented team as they help restaurants of all sizes across Latin America reach their customers directly, and optimize orders, on WhatsApp," says Sunita Parasuraman, Head of New Product Experimentation Investments, Meta.
The platform, which currently processes 1 million monthly orders, is already being implemented by 45,000 restaurants that have free access to features such as: the digital menu (QR) that allows customers to order from the restaurant or from their homes without using delivery apps, the point of sale (POS) for staff to register sales, the customer manager (CRM) and the promotion generator for social networks.
"With OlaClick's hassle-free technology, any restaurant can instantly open a digital storefront and leverage social media to sell their products online. This opens up a new revenue stream for businesses across Latin America and represents a huge opportunity for OlaClick," said Zachary Bratun-Glennon, Partner at Gradient Ventures. "We're excited to support Jose and his team as they roll this tech out to more businesses across the region."
OlaClick does not seek to compete directly with delivery apps but rather wants to position itself as an alternative to optimize orders that are made directly between the restaurant and the consumer, either by phone or by WhatsApp or Instagram messages. These direct interactions represent +50% of orders in Latin America.
"Our goal is to support restaurants, regardless of their size or sector, by being allies in the digitalization of their processes and services. OlaClick allows them to not only organize their orders and offer better customer service but also get to know their consumers better and grow their business," says Karol Riboud, Co-founder of OlaClick.
About OlaClick
OlaClick is a commission-free platform that allows restaurants, regardless of their size, to develop their own landing page to manage orders and retain consumers. The startup, which currently processes a million orders per month, was founded in 2020 as an alternative to delivery apps by 4 European Immigrants - 3 French and 1 Spanish - that have been living in Latin America for more than 10 years. OlaClick operates in +20 countries. Its main markets are Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. For more information, visit www.olaclick.com.
About Gradient Ventures
Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused venture fund, helps founders build transformational companies. The fund focuses on helping founders navigate the challenges in developing new technology products, using the latest best practices in recruiting, marketing, design, and engineering so that great ideas can come to life. Gradient was founded in 2017 and is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.gradient.com.
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SOURCE: OlaClick