Say goodbye to LevelUp the app and hello to LevelUp the platform.
The Boston startup on Tuesday announced that it has raised a $50 million round — its largest fundraise yet — from JPMorgan Chase, CentroCredit Bank and wealth management firm US Boston as it transforms into a mobile payments and customer rewards platform for restaurants. This round brings total funding to $85 million.
LevelUp's new funding round follows the December 2016 announcement that Chase Bank, a JPMorgan subsidiary, would use LevelUp to power aspects of its Chase Pay app to battle Apple and other big players in the mobile payments space.
While LevelUp still provides its mobile payments and customer rewards app, the company is putting most of its focus into developing and supporting a platform for restaurant brands, as well as partners like Chase Bank through its Chase Pay app. After launching a white label service in 2012, LevelUp now powers the apps of more than 200 brands, including sweetgreens, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Potbelly Sandwich Shop. The company also provides customer relationship management systems that give these brands ways to analyze customer behavior and engage with them.
"A lot of our resources are geared toward growing the platform overall," Alex Shuck, director of marketing and analytics at LevelUp, told me.
"A lot of our resources are geared toward growing the platform overall."
LevelUp, which is one of BostInno's 17 tech companies to watch in 2017, now has nearly 1 million people using its platform every month. Shuck declined to provide revenue figures but said the company has been experiencing strong year-over-year growth.
The company's app allows consumers to order ahead at a number of restaurants to save time, make payments without a credit card and receive loyalty rewards with every purchase. Those features are the backbone of the custom app development services it provides for restaurant brands that want better ways to engage with customers.
LevelUp now has 150 employees and plans to hire in engineering and support. While he did not provide any specific hiring numbers, Shuck said the company had about 85 employees a year ago — roughly half of what it has now.
"We're continuing that kind of momentum," he said.
LevelUp was founded in 2008 by Seth Priebatsch. It originally started as a social location-based gaming platform called SCVNGR and eventually pivoted to becoming a daily deals service and, ultimately, a mobile payments and customer loyalty app. Investors include GV (formerly Google Ventures), Highland Capital and Balderton Capital.
