What Chowly does

Chowly is a Chicago-based restaurant technology company founded in 2015 that operates a cloud-based, POS-integrated platform serving 17,000+ restaurant locations across 3,000+ brands in the United States. The platform originally solved the problem of disconnected restaurant technology by integrating Point of Sale systems (Toast, Square, SpotOn, Clover, Aloha, Lightspeed, Revel — 50+ POS systems total) with third-party delivery aggregators (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Postmates and 150+ apps), and has since expanded into a full restaurant growth platform covering branded commission-free online ordering, SEO-optimized marketing websites, Google Business Profile and Google Ads management, branded mobile apps, loyalty programs, customer surveys, dynamic pricing, and dispute management. The current product is organized around eight autonomous AI agents (SEO, GBP, Ads, Campaign, Pricing, Review, Delivery, Upsell) that operate continuously to recover margin, optimize ad spend, generate reviews, and lift basket size across the customer base.

The business model combines per-location subscription fees (minimum $35/month per restaurant location) with usage-based transaction fees on orders processed through the platform ($0.30 base + 2.9% card processing + up to 10% Chowly commission on Google Ordering and similar channels), plus upsells on premium modules including mobile app, loyalty, and the outcome-guaranteed 'Guaranteed Growth' program. Chowly monetizes both the direct-ordering channel (commission-free for the restaurant, with Chowly capturing the avoided aggregator margin) and the third-party delivery channel (where the Pricing Agent dynamically adjusts menu prices to recover commission economics). Distribution is direct enterprise field sales plus inside sales, supported by content marketing, paid search, and industry event presence. The company has raised approximately $31.7M across five funding rounds (2017-2022) and completed two acquisitions — Koala (guest experience platform, February 2023) and Targetable (digital marketing platform, January 2024) — extending the platform into in-store guest engagement and demand generation respectively. Chowly is founder-led by CEO Sterling Douglass and Chief Innovation Officer Justin McNally, with 51-100 employees operating from Chicago headquarters.

Name

Chowly

Legal name

Chowly, Inc.

Website

https://chowly.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Chowly is a Chicago-based restaurant technology company operating a cloud-based, POS-integrated platform that connects 17,000+ restaurant locations across 3,000+ brands to 150+ delivery apps and 50+ POS systems, using eight AI agents to recover margin, manage marketing, and drive direct ordering.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant Marketing & Ordering Technology

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

POI, Local Listings & Business Directory Platforms (BPAMANAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Merchant-Integrated BNPL (Checkout POS Financing) (FSAGAIAA), In-Store Contactless & NFC Acceptance (Tap-to-Pay, EMV Contactless) (FSAMADAF)

Keywords

• Restaurant technology platform
• Online ordering software
• POS integration middleware
• Restaurant marketing automation
• Delivery aggregator integration

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Subscription / Platform Fees: Monthly subscription fee charged per restaurant location for platform access, POS integration, and AI agent functionality. Minimum pricing starts at $35/month per location.
2. Transaction / Order Processing Fees: Per-order transaction fees applied on orders processed through the Chowly platform, including Google Ordering integration. Fees include a $0.30 base per order plus 2.9% card processing plus Chowly's commission of up to 10%.
3. Dynamic Pricing Recovery: Chowly charges up to 10% on orders to recover costs and enable commission-free ordering economics for restaurants. This allows restaurants to avoid the standard 15-30% commission charged by third-party delivery platforms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Chowly sells an AI-agent-powered restaurant marketing and ordering platform that integrates directly with restaurant POS systems and 150+ third-party delivery apps to enable commission-free direct online ordering, AI-managed marketing (SEO, Google Ads, Google Business Profile, email), dynamic pricing, loyalty, and review management. The platform is sold to independent restaurants, small chains, and multi-location franchise brands in the United States on a per-location subscription plus usage-based component for Google Ordering.

Product overview

Chowly is a unified restaurant technology platform (not a single product) comprising 10 core tools and 8 AI agents that work together through POS integrations. The core platform consists of: Branded Online Ordering (commission-free on restaurant's own domain), Marketing Website (SEO-optimized, AI-powered), Google Business Profile management, Google Ads management, 3rd Party Marketplace Integration (150+ delivery apps including DoorDash Preferred Partner), Email Marketing automation, Mobile App (iOS/Android), Dynamic Pricing (AI margin recovery), Customer Surveys (review generation), and Loyalty Program (earn online/redeem in-store via POS). The 8 AI agents (SEO, GBP, Ads, Campaign, Pricing, Review, Delivery, Upsell) drive these tools autonomously. The platform connects to 50+ POS systems (Toast, Square, SpotOn, Clover, Lightspeed, Revel) and manages the full restaurant demand funnel from discovery (SEO/Ads/GBP) through ordering (direct + 3rd party) to retention (loyalty/email/reviews). Chowly acquired Koala (guest experience platform, 2023) and Targetable (digital marketing platform, Jan 2024) to expand its capabilities. The platform serves 17,000+ restaurant locations across 3,000+ brands, processing hundreds of thousands of orders daily.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Marketing Website SEO-optimized, mobile-first restaurant websites that rank in Google Search, Google AI Overviews, and ChatGPT; continuously maintained by the SEO Agent to drive local discovery for restaurant customers.
• Branded Online Ordering Commission-free online ordering hosted on the restaurant's own domain, supporting Apple Pay, rapid reorder, saved orders, and AI-powered upsells; orders flow directly to POS bypassing marketplace commissions.
• Google Business Profile Management AI-managed local presence on Google Maps and Search, with the GBP Agent scanning competitors, optimizing categories, keeping profiles fresh daily, and synchronizing website content for map pack visibility.
• Google Ads Management AI-managed Google Ads campaigns tracking every dollar from ad click to confirmed POS order, with keyword-level attribution and brand defense against delivery aggregators bidding on the restaurant's name.
• 3rd Party Marketplace Integration Direct POS integration with 150+ delivery apps including DoorDash (Preferred Integration Partner), Uber Eats, Grubhub, Postmates, and Menufy; orders route to POS, menus sync automatically, and items are 86'd in real time, eliminating tablet clutter and manual re-entry.
• Email Marketing Automation Automated email campaign engine driven by the Campaign Agent, including event-based campaigns, welcome sequences, and win-back emails; AI writes emails, creates promo codes, syncs to POS, and sends at optimal times.
• Branded Mobile App Branded iOS and Android loyalty-enabled mobile apps that include sign-on download bonuses, points earning and redemption; restaurants get their own app store presence without per-order commissions.
• Dynamic Pricing AI-powered margin recovery tool that adjusts third-party marketplace menu prices automatically based on busy-period patterns to recover commission margin lost to delivery aggregators; vendor: Sauce Technologies Inc.
• Customer Surveys & Review Management Post-order survey system that routes happy customers to leave Google reviews, intercepts unhappy customers before they post publicly, and includes AI-drafted review responses in the restaurant's brand voice.
• Loyalty Program Two-way loyalty program where customers earn points through online orders and redeem them at the register via POS integration, syncing points automatically between online and in-store channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• Restaurants can save 15-30% per order by using Chowly's direct ordering platform compared to standard third-party delivery aggregator commissions.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration14 records

AI capability10 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ToastcoreTechnology or IntegrationPOS integration partnership enabling real-time menu synchronization and order routing between Toast POS systems and Chowly's ordering platform. Toast is one of the most widely deployed restaurant POS systems in the US market.
• SquarecoreTechnology or IntegrationPOS integration partnership enabling Square-based restaurants to connect to Chowly's delivery aggregation and direct ordering platform. Square serves a broad base of independent and small restaurant operators.
• SpotOncoreTechnology or IntegrationPOS integration partnership connecting SpotOn POS systems to Chowly's ordering platform, enabling restaurants using SpotOn to aggregate delivery orders and enable direct ordering through a single integration.
• ClovercoreTechnology or IntegrationPOS integration with Clover POS systems, allowing Clover-using restaurants to access Chowly's delivery aggregation and direct ordering capabilities through the existing Clover hardware and software.
• Aloha (NCR)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Aloha POS (NCR Aloha), targeting mid-to-large restaurant operators using the Aloha platform for table service and high-volume restaurant operations.
• LightspeedcoreTechnology or IntegrationPOS integration partnership with Lightspeed, connecting Lightspeed POS systems to Chowly's ordering platform for restaurants seeking delivery aggregation and direct ordering capabilities.
• DoorDashcoreTechnology or IntegrationDelivery platform integration enabling restaurants to aggregate DoorDash orders through Chowly's platform. DoorDash is the largest US food delivery platform by market share.
• Uber EatscoreTechnology or IntegrationDelivery platform integration allowing restaurants to manage Uber Eats orders alongside other delivery platforms through the Chowly unified ordering interface.
• GrubhubcoreTechnology or IntegrationDelivery platform integration with Grubhub, enabling restaurants using Chowly to consolidate Grubhub orders with other delivery platforms into a single workflow.
• Google OrderingcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Google Ordering (Google Maps / Search food ordering), enabling restaurants to accept direct orders through Google Search and Google Maps. This is a key channel for restaurant discovery and direct ordering conversion.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Olo: Olo is a direct competitor in restaurant online ordering and delivery integration, providing direct-ordering platforms, POS integrations, and guest data solutions to enterprise restaurant brands. Comparable because both companies target the same fundamental problem of helping restaurants capture first-party orders and integrate with delivery aggregators.
• Deliverect: Deliverect is a direct competitor providing delivery aggregator integration with POS systems across global markets, similar to Chowly's core integration middleware offering. Both companies focus on eliminating manual order entry and unifying restaurant order management across multiple delivery platforms.
• Owner.com: Owner.com is a direct competitor providing all-in-one marketing, website, and commission-free online ordering platforms for independent restaurants. Both companies target the same pain point of reducing dependency on third-party delivery aggregators and enabling first-party ordering at the restaurant's own domain.
• Popmenu: Popmenu provides restaurant websites with built-in online ordering, marketing automation, and guest engagement tools. It directly overlaps with Chowly's marketing website, online ordering, and email marketing modules, competing for the same SMB and mid-market restaurant customers.
• MenuDrive: MenuDrive provides commission-free online ordering websites for restaurants with direct POS integrations. It directly competes with Chowly's branded online ordering module for the same independent restaurant and small chain segments.

Broad incumbents

• Toast: Toast is a leading restaurant POS platform that has aggressively expanded into online ordering, marketing, and loyalty tools. While Toast is also a Chowly integration partner, it increasingly competes head-to-head with Chowly's broader platform, making it both a partner and a vertical competitor.
• Square for Restaurants: Square (Block) provides restaurant POS with integrated online ordering, marketing, and delivery tools. As a Chowly POS partner, Square represents both a distribution channel and a competitive incumbent building native alternatives to Chowly's broader platform modules.
• SpotOn: SpotOn provides restaurant POS, payments, and marketing tools, with growing capabilities in online ordering and guest engagement. It is simultaneously a Chowly POS integration partner and an emerging competitor building overlapping platform functionality for SMB restaurants.

Emerging players

• Cuboh: Cuboh is an emerging delivery aggregator integration platform that consolidates third-party delivery orders into restaurant POS systems. It overlaps with Chowly's core integration middleware functionality but with a narrower product surface and smaller market footprint.
• Restaurant365: Restaurant365 is a cloud-based back-office platform for restaurants covering accounting, inventory, payroll, and scheduling. While not a direct competitor today, it increasingly overlaps with Chowly's restaurant growth platform ambitions and represents a future vertical SaaS consolidator in the space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chowlyplatform
• Facebookfacebook.com/chowlyinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chowlyinc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors13 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chowly