Funding

Hostie Raises $12M in Series A Funding Led by Obvious Ventures

Jul 9, 2026 | By Startuprise io

Hostie, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of AI-powered virtual concierge services for restaurants, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Obvious Ventures.

The round also saw participation from Gradient, Scribble Ventures, Burst Capital, Behind Genius Ventures, Tim Stannard, Stuart Brioza, Nicole Krasinski, and Elizabeth DePalmer.

The company will use the funding to expand its operations and continue developing its products and services.

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Since its launch, Hostie has become a trusted virtual concierge for hundreds of restaurants and hospitality groups across the United States. Its customers include Flour + Water Hospitality Group, Riviera Dining Group, Bacchus Management Group, Cactus Club Cafe, Cunningham Restaurant Group, Merchants Hospitality, State Bird Provisions, Wayfare Tavern, Mirra, and The Progress.

The platform helps restaurants handle phone calls, text messages, reservations, takeout requests, private event inquiries and customer questions. By automating these tasks, Hostie allows staff to spend more time serving guests in person and delivering a better dining experience.

The funding comes after a year of rapid growth for Hostie. The company increased its revenue tenfold, expanded to hundreds of restaurant partners across the U.S., managed more than 2 million guest conversations and 24 million messages, booked over 400,000 reservations, and handled more than 50,000 private event inquiries.

Industry leaders, including former OpenTable CEO Thomas Layton, former OpenTable Senior Vice President of Sales and Resy board member Mike Dodson, and former Yelp Vice President of Engineering Mike Stoppelman advise Hostie.

"At Back to Back, I saw firsthand how difficult it became for restaurant teams to keep up with the growing volume of guest communication while still delivering great hospitality," said Randall Hom, co-founder and CEO of Hostie and co-owner of Back to Back in San Francisco. "Restaurants are being asked to manage more calls, texts, reservations, takeout, and guest questions than ever before.

"Hospitality is one of the most operationally complex industries in the world, and Hostie understands that deeply," said Kahini Shah, Partner at Obvious Ventures. "Randall and Brendan are building an essential platform for restaurants at a time when operators are being asked to do more with less. What stood out to us was the team's deep hospitality expertise, the product's quality, and the clear market demand.

"I first discovered Hostie when I called Flour + Water to say I was running late for a reservation, and the experience was so seamless I immediately wanted to know what was powering it," said Andrew Brackin, Partner at Gradient. "What Randall and Brendan have built is best-in-class technology grounded in a deep understanding of hospitality. From the beginning, operators weren't just using the product; they were helping shape it.

About Hostie

Founded in 2024 by Randall Hom and Brendan Wood, Hostie is a San Francisco-based company that provides an AI powered virtual concierge for restaurants. The platform helps independent restaurants, hospitality groups, and national restaurant brands manage calls, text messages, reservations, takeout orders, private event inquiries and guest communication while delivering a better customer experience.

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