Toast raises $30 million for Android-powered point-of-sale system to challenge Square

Toast announced today that it has raised a $30 million Series B funding round to support its Android point-of-sale (POS) system for restaurants. This latest investment was led by Bessemer Venture Partners and will be used for hiring talent, updating products, and marketing. Additional investors include GV (formerly Google Ventures), along with unnamed private investors.

Founded in 2011, the Boston-based company offers a mobile POS system for restaurants, bars, and other food and beverage establishments. It offers solutions for restaurants seeking to improve customer loyalty and track sales — enabling gift cards, for example, and making it possible to view reports on labor and sales right on a mobile device. Toast said that it currently has more than 1,400 customer establishments across 43 states in the U.S.

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“We have the opportunity to dramatically improve the restaurant experience through technology, and our customer traction to date shows the industry is ready for a new solution,” said CEO Chris Comparato in a statement.

Prior to today, the company had reportedly raised more than $7 million in funding provided by angel investors and entrepreneur Steve Papa.

Being a POS system puts Toast in competition with other tech companies in the space, such as Square’s Stand, Revel Systems, and First Data-owned Clover. However, many of these utilize an iPad instead of an Android tablet. Toast said that it chose to buck the trend due to “its flexibility and customizability in both software and hardware. This allows us to have better control over the tech experience as well as tailor the system to each restaurant’s needs.”

Having the firm formerly known as Google Ventures on board as an investor is notable because if you’re going to be building on an Android platform, why wouldn’t you want the early-stage investment arm of Alphabet backing you?

Toast has plans to improve its add-ons, such as online ordering, and put more resources behind its developer API. A company spokesperson told VentureBeat that it’s going to also build out tools for its enterprise customers and invest in multiple payment solutions. Lastly, it’ll continue to make enhancements to its core product to make it more restaurant-friendly.