MealMe, a unified API that embeds meals and retail ordering into shopper apps and web sites, introduced on Thursday that it secured $8 million in Sequence A funding. The newly raised capital brings the full quantity raised to $16 million.
MealMe has undergone a number of modifications since its launch in 2019. Initially, it was a shopper app designed to assist individuals discover the perfect offers on supply from eating places and grocery shops. It then advanced to permit customers to order meals immediately by the MealMe app.
The corporate has now utterly transitioned to a B2B mannequin, providing its API for different companies to combine ordering expertise into their functions and web sites. When an organization integrates MealMe’s API, it will get entry to real-time product pricing and availability, and it permits prospects to order their merchandise from native shops.
MealMe says that its API supplies stock information on greater than 1 billion merchandise from greater than 1.2 million grocery shops, eating places, and retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada. It at present serves greater than 100 prospects, together with Fantuan Supply, Favor Supply, TripAdvisor, and others.
Matthew Bouchner, co-founder and president, instructed TechCrunch, “We constructed the API for ourselves with the patron app so as to add ordering from shops into our app, after which realized that, OK, properly, we are able to proceed rising our app, or we are able to pivot to B2B and be the infrastructure layer for anyone that wants the power to tug menus and stock and ship orders into shops.”
Bouchner added that the corporate made the pivot after seeing the rising pattern of embedded commerce, which basically includes integrating e-commerce options into current platforms. This permits companies to supply their merchandise on to prospects by platforms they already use.
“The whole lot goes to be embedded. You’re going to have the ability to order out of your automotive, out of your TV, out of your current social networking apps, together with your AI-based assistant, and there must be an infrastructure layer that connects that consumer-facing platform to shops and to marketplaces … I feel that we’re going to be on the forefront of all the things embedded for years to come back,” he mentioned.
The Sequence A was led by Mercury Fund with participation from current traders Gaingels and Palm Drive Capital.
The corporate will use the brand new capital to strengthen advertising efforts and develop the crew to ship higher developer assist to enterprise prospects. Along with meals ordering and supply, the corporate goals to concentrate on increasing into different areas, similar to broader e-commerce and AI.
