Toast Inc. is raising a toast to itself.
The Boston-based restaurant management software developer raised a whopping $250 million in a Series E round led by TCV and Tiger Global Management. Existing investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, Lead Edge Capital and T. Rowe Price Associates also participated in the round.
This brings the company's total funding to $499 million; It became a unicorn last year after closing a $115 million Series D round.
Now valued at $2.7 billion, Toast leadership said it will invest the majority of the funds in research and development, with as much as a billion dollars towards software and hardware research.
"The fundraising for this round process started naturally as our Series D was oversubscribed," said Toast CFO Tim Barash. "It felt like a good time, our company is growing faster than we expected; it made sense to strike while the iron was hot."
The company counts clients like osé Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup and Tartine Bakery, as its clients, along with Joe Coffee Company, Eggs Up Grill, JACKS Urban Eats and The County Line.
In January this year, the company launched a consumer-facing app called "Toast TakeOut" that allows diners of restaurants in the Toast network to order ahead and pick up their food in store.
"We're focused on getting feedback from restaurants and guests," Barash said. "It's still early days and it is something we consider important and we will continue to experiment with it."
Barash noted that Toast will invest heavily in its go-to-market strategy and is evaluating options for international expansion.
"Today we are laser-focused on the U.S.," Barash said. "But we are starting to have a lot of conversations internationally, in early planning stages."
The company claims that its revenue grew by 148 percent in 2018 and is still focused on adding more restaurants to its growing clientele and invest in marketing and customer success.
With 1,500 people on staff, Toast plans to add 1,000 employees by the end of 2019 in sales and marketing, R&D and customer success.
