Blink Raises $17M in Funding Led by Enlightened Hospitality Investments

The company plans to use the funding to expand its product and engineering teams, continue improving its AI-powered platform, and accelerate its go-to-market efforts to reach more customers across the hospitality industry and other sectors.

Blink develops mobile-first workforce communication and engagement software for industries with large frontline teams, including restaurants, hotels, transportation, logistics, and retail.

Its platform combines internal communication, scheduling, workforce updates, and employee self-service tools into one app, helping companies keep corporate and frontline employees connected.

The investment comes as hospitality companies continue to face labor shortages, rising wages and employee retention challenges that increased after the pandemic. Workforce communication and engagement software has become increasingly important for restaurant, and retail operators seeking tools that make work easier for hourly employees while improving staffing coordination and operational efficiency.

A key part of this strategy is Blink IQ, Blink’s AI-powered workforce insights platform. It analyzes employee sentiment, productivity trends, engagement patterns and turnover risks to help companies identify staffing, and operational issues earlier and respond faster.

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“I have always believed that Enlightened Hospitality — the ethos that when you take care of your people, your people take care of your customers — is how to create sustaining success in any business,” said Danny Meyer, co-founder and managing partner of Enlightened Hospitality Investments and founder of Union Square Hospitality Group. “Blink’s technology puts people first by making sure team members are equipped and supported so they can, in turn, deliver their very best.”

“At Shake Shack, everything starts with our people,” said Luke DeRouen, chief communications officer at Shake Shack. “As we continue to grow, we are focused on giving our teams simple tools that keep them informed, connected, and engaged.”

“We are excited to partner with Danny and the EHI team and believe that their commitment to delivering Enlightened Hospitality is more relevant now than ever,” said Sean Nolan, founder and CEO of Blink. “We are also thrilled to launch with Shake Shack, an industry leader who shares our commitment to a strong corporate culture that begins on the restaurant floor.”

About Blink

Founded in 2015 by Sean Nolan, Blink is a mobile first employee experience platform that connects workers, systems and company culture through one app. The platform helps improve communication, and engagement between frontline and office-based employees.

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