News Briefs

Ditto, creator of a distributed data platform that enables apps to synchronize data in real-time even without internet connectivity, today announced that it has closed $45 million in a Series A funding round led by Acrew Capital, with participation from U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (USIT). Existing investors True Ventures and Amity Ventures invested additional funding.

Apps today assume data lives only in one place, typically a singular cloud database. However, the reality is far more complex. A combination of the rapid growth of mobile or other edge devices and global cloud infrastructure means applications need to store and process data everywhere. If apps can’t access important data, critical app processes break down until a connection is restored. Ditto’s Intelligent Edge Platform combats this by enabling data to be accessible anywhere 24/7, ensuring low-latency app processes.

The Ditto platform provides a distributed database that runs anywhere, from edge devices to the cloud, enabling real-time, flexible, peer-to-peer data distribution, even in areas that have limited or no internet communication. This allows applications to process and communicate data where it is generated, circumventing the necessity of a central server and providing resiliency and low-latency capabilities. 

Ditto is already generating substantial revenue, thanks to demand from the defense sector and major enterprise customers including Alaska Airlines, Lufthansa, Japan Airlines, Hugo, and the U.S. Air Force. The company’s technology is critical to a range of industries including aviation, defense, point-of-sale, emergency, agriculture, healthcare, factory and warehouses, retail, and hospitality, where seamless connectivity and real-time data sharing are essential, regardless of internet availability. 

"Ditto’s long-term vision is to build the world’s next great database, with an emphasis on real-time collaboration in fast-paced sectors like restaurants and hospitality, where swift and efficient service is crucial," says Adam Fish, Ditto co-founder and CEO. "Traditionally, hotels and restaurants have relied on systems that necessitate local servers to synchronize devices, which can be challenging in case of internet outages or device power loss. Ditto's Intelligent Edge Platform shifts the focus from dependency on local servers and internet connectivity to a more streamlined and flexible solution. By enabling direct device connections, particularly for wireless devices, Ditto eliminates the need for onsite servers. This simplification of deployment, maintenance, and upgrades empowers businesses to offer enhanced digital experiences to customers more rapidly than ever before, all while maintaining seamless communication and data synchronization among devices, regardless of internet connectivity."

The company will use the funding to grow its sales and marketing functions and to accelerate the technology roadmap, expanding to more platforms like IoT, unlocking massive new performance, and bringing the power of its distributed data platform to more industries and use cases.

QSR Automations earned recognition for excellence in customer service and support.

At MURTEC, QSR Automations’ VP of Hardware Solutions and Support, Kathi Klein, received fHospitality Technology ’s 2023 Top Women in Technology Lifetime Achievement Award. 

During her more than 30 years in the restaurant technology industry – half of those at QSR Automations–Klein has amassed incomparable knowledge in understanding and troubleshooting kitchen display, front-of-house, and the associated hardware and networking platforms needed to run them. 

But what truly sets Klein apart is her natural ability to nurture relationships and foster talent, which has made her an effective leader in QSR Automations’ Support Services Team. During her long tenure at QSR Automations, Klein has built one of the industry’s strongest and most effective support teams. In fact, under Klein’s guidance, the team has received a 99 percent satisfaction rate from customers in 2021, and last year handled more than 16,000 inbound and outbound calls, which earned them a bronze award for Excellence in Customer Service from the 2022 Stevie Awards. 

This was the third bronze Stevie award for the team, as last fall, Klein accepted two additional bronze awards from the Stevie Women in Business Awards on behalf of QSR Automations–one for excellence in customer service, and the other for growth. QSR Automations was selected for these honors from more than 1,500 nominations from around the world.

“Just as our technology is the heart of a restaurant kitchen, our people are truly the heart of this business,” said Angela Leet, CEO of QSR Automations. “My colleagues are passionate about innovation both in and out of the office, and it’s immensely gratifying to see them recognized for these achievements.”

QSR Automations, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., with offices in the United Kingdom, is a global industry leader in kitchen automation and guest management services.

Up and coming QSR  Salad and Go  is expanding in Texas with three new locations opening in February in the Houston markets of Katy, Richmond and League City.

The Katy store located opened February 1, the Richmond location at  is set to open February 17, and the League City store plans to open its doors on February 22. These new locations will mark the start of rapid brand expansion across the Greater Houston area.

These suburbs were strategically selected as ideal markets for Salad and Go as some of the fastest growing communities in the region. Conveniently located in some of Houston's most popular suburbs, the new locations will provide fresh, high-quality meals with quick and easy convenience at an affordable price.

As Salad and Go continues growing its national presence with a strong focus on Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nevada, the brand's expansive growth has it on a positive trajectory to provide fresh and affordable food to communities in more than 125 locations by the end of 2023. Houston is the next step in the brand's expansion across Texas with plans to open additional stores in the market throughout the new year.

Salad and Go's chef-curated menu provides guests with food for any time of the day by offering a variety of delicious and healthy items including salads, wraps, breakfast burritos and soup as well as beverages including hand-crafted lemonades, teas and cold brew coffees.

Salad and Go ensures each meal contains fresh, quality ingredients while keeping prices low by vertically integrating operations and distribution, and sourcing ingredients directly from high-quality local farmers and suppliers whenever possible. The brand's mission to make fresh, nutritious food convenient and affordable for ALL extends beyond its stores and is demonstrated in the work the brand does to donate 4,000 meals every week to those in need, as well as in partnerships with nonprofits to support and fundraise for various worthy causes.

Nextbite,  a provider of virtual restaurants, has partnered with Nathan’s Famous to bring its iconic hot dogs, burgers and crinkle cut fries as a delivery-only menu through Nextbite’s network of restaurant partners. The Nathan’s Famous virtual brand is now available for restaurants to sign up to offer them as a Nextbite partner, bringing this brand to consumers nationwide.

The Nathan’s Famous delivery-only menu includes Nathan’s signature all-beef hot dogs, crinkle cut fries, burgers and more. The hot dog menu includes hot dogs along with chili, cheese sauce and bacon toppings.

With Nextbite’s virtual restaurant solution featuring Nathan’s Famous menu items, it seamlessly connects restaurant partners with delivery services such as Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub. Nextbite delivery-only restaurant concepts are crafted to complement current restaurant operations, equipment, and resources. Backed by data, its brands drive orders during different dayparts, so restaurants can increase sales during slow periods.

Valyant AI, a provider of AI-powered customer service solutions, has announced the incorporation of language-learning models to enhance its artificial intelligence technology for restaurants. This application is set to utilize the latest advancements in LLMs (similar to ChatGPT and Google’s LaMDA) for improving the comprehensiveness of its voice assistant system’s responses, speed and efficiency.

17% of restaurants plan to add in-car ordering this year, according to Hospitality Technology’s 25th annual Restaurant Technology Study.

The LLM technology utilized by Valyant AI is a type of artificial intelligence that allows computers to understand natural language and context in a previously impossible way. This technology has been trained on vast amounts of language data, allowing the platform to provide users with more accurate responses in less time, positively impacting customer satisfaction, reducing wait times and delivering a more efficient user experience overall.

A key distinction of Valyant AI's usage of LLM technology is that it ensures customer data security and privacy by not sharing that information with any third-party external entities. This level of protection is  crucial in maintaining customer trust and building a positive reputation in the industry.

Valyant AI is committed to staying at the forefront of technological advancements in artificial intelligence, and the incorporation of LLM technology is just one example of the company's ongoing dedication to innovation.

The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), the authority on boardroom practices representing more than 23,000 board members, have launched a new alliance to promote NACD Accelerate™ to cybersecurity professionals, an educational program for aspiring boardroom leaders and executives that delivers the critical foundation needed to become a prime candidate for directorship.

As the cybersecurity threat landscape continues to evolve, corporate boards are under increasing pressure to provide oversight of cybersecurity risk, but many boards lack directors with relevant experience. Forthcoming regulations from the SEC related to cybersecurity disclosures are expected to further increase the demand for corporate directors with cybersecurity expertise.

“Corporate directors play a critical leadership role in ensuring the security and resilience of their organizations,” said Suzie Squier, president of RH-ISAC. “We are thrilled to partner with NACD to promote the NACD Accelerate™ program to CISOs at our member companies and help close the cybersecurity knowledge gap in boardrooms across industries.”

The RH-ISAC is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing threat intelligence and best practices related to cybersecurity in the retail and hospitality industry. NACD is the premier membership organization for board directors who want to expand their knowledge, grow their network, and maximize their potential. By joining together, the RH-ISAC and NACD are leveraging their unique strengths to help organizations develop well-rounded boards with cybersecurity expertise.

Through this collaboration, RH-ISAC is promoting the program to CISOs and other cybersecurity leaders and has already enrolled a cohort representing companies from across the retail and hospitality sectors.