Platterz Announces US$15 Million in Funding Led by Aleph Capital

AI-Powered Catering Platform Gears to Feed Companies Globally and Improve Office Culture

TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2018 /CNW/ - Platterz Inc, the leading AI-powered corporate catering platform, today announced the closing of a US$15 million Series A funding round led by Aleph, the investors behind global disruptors such as WeWork and Lemonade. The investment round includes existing investors AltaIR Capital and Globalive Capital. Platterz will use the funds to accelerate product development and global expansion in 2018.

Platterz' proprietary 'predictive meal builder' provides on-demand catering options for corporate lunches, meetings and events, leveraging its clients' headcount, budget parameters and dietary preferences. Through the platform, companies instantly receive personalized quotes and menus from hundreds of top local restaurants and caterers while reducing their average time spent ordering food by 90 percent.

"The process of ordering food for the office is extremely outdated," said Eran Henig, Co-Founder and CEO of Platterz. "Our clients are adopting our solution and quickly learning that catering works best when powered by predictive technology, and this is why we've shown such tremendous growth since our launch. Aleph's data-driven approach to scaling businesses is the perfect strategic fit for us and we couldn't be more excited to have them join the Platterz family."

With the growing trend of companies investing in office culture and team engagement, Platterz is now serving to thousands of employees across Toronto and New York City. In 2017, Platterz tripled revenues and the team has grown to more than 50 employees. Platterz is used by companies that share its vision for an office culture of the future including top-ranked places to work like Apple, Salesforce and Shopify.

"Our passion is all about helping companies build a strong and unique corporate culture by bringing teams and employees closer together. Companies are spending so much time and effort trying to invest in their culture to attract and retain talent. We play a key part in this equation," said Yishay Waxman, Platterz Co-Founder and President.

Platterz also announced the addition of Jonathan Zabusky, former President of GrubHub and CEO of Seamless, and Ran Makavy, EVP of Growth at Lyft and former Director of Product Management at Facebook, as advisors to its board. The two senior executives bring decades of ecommerce and marketplace experience that will help accelerate Platterz' growth in North America as the company moves to replace traditional service models.

Following the closing of Platterz' Series A round of funding, Aaron Rosenson of Aleph will join Platterz' Board of Directors.

"Platterz is growing quickly, with impressive unit economics. The management team is innovative, thoughtful and detail-oriented, thinking years ahead about what it will take to build a meaningful and lasting business in this large and rapidly evolving category. We are excited to partner with them," said Aaron Rosenson, Partner at Aleph.

Platterz was founded by serial entrepreneurs Eran Henig and Yishay Waxman. Waxman was part of the founding team at Jumptap, acquired by Millennial Media for $225 million in 2013. Henig most recently built and sold Tradyo to Torstar's Metroland Media Group in 2014.

About Platterz

Platterz is on a mission to reinvent corporate catering. Replacing traditional methods of ordering over the phone with a streamlined online process, Platterz empowers office admins and other event planners by saving time and focusing on what really matters: the employees. Launched in 2016, Platterz is headquartered in Toronto with offices in New York. www.platterz.co

About Aleph

Aleph is an early stage venture capital fund with US$330 million under management. Aleph partners with entrepreneurs to help them scale their businesses into large, meaningful companies and globally recognizable brands. Aleph is an Equal Partnership of Eden Shochat, Michael Eisenberg and Aaron Rosenson. Since its founding in 2013, the fund has invested in 18 companies including Houseparty, WeWork, Windward, Nexar, Lemonade, Colu, Freightos and HoneyBook. www.aleph.vc

SOURCE Platterz