Toast, Inc.

Toast, Inc.

Company type	Public
Industry	Cloud restaurant management software
Founder	Steve Fredette, Aman Narang, Jonathan Grimm
Headquarters	Boston , United States
Products	Point of sale (POS) solution on Android platform; hardware: Flex, Tap, Toast Hub, receipt printer; restaurant management platform; reservations service

Toast, Inc. is a U.S.-based provider of cloud restaurant management software, with its headquarters located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company delivers a comprehensive point of sale (POS) solution that operates on the Android platform.

History

The company was established by Steve Fredette, Aman Narang, and Jonathan Grimm. In its early stages, Toast created a consumer-focused app designed for mobile payments, customer rewards, and promotional activities that worked alongside existing restaurant POS systems.

In February 2020, Toast secured $400 million in Series F financing from investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners and TPG Capital, which placed the company’s valuation at $4.9 billion. By mid-2024, roughly 120,000 restaurants across the United States were utilizing Toast’s software.

The restaurant sector faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting Toast to reduce its workforce by half in April 2020. Nevertheless, a secondary market transaction in November 2020 valued the firm at approximately $8 billion. On September 22, 2021, Toast made its public debut on the stock market under the ticker symbol TOST, starting with a share price of $40 and achieving a market value close to $20 billion—ranking it among the largest IPOs in the U.S. for that year.

In February 2023, Toast broadened its product portfolio by acquiring Delphi Display Systems, a company based in Costa Mesa specializing in digital display and drive-thru technologies tailored for quick-service restaurants (QSRs).

From its founding until June 2023, Toast operated out of Boston’s Landmark Center before moving to a new location.

Products

Introduced in March 2020, Toast’s restaurant management platform is built on the Android system and includes four hardware options: Flex (offered as single-screen, guest-facing, and kitchen display units), Tap (a versatile payment device supporting contactless transactions), Toast Hub, and a receipt printer.

In April 2023, Toast entered the reservations market to compete with established services such as OpenTable and Resy.

Recognition

Toast was recognized as the Hottest Startup: A+ at the New England Venture Capital Association’s NEVY awards in May 2016.

See also

• Square (financial services)