OpenCity
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What OpenCity does
OpenCity is a Boston-based AI software company that builds voice-ordering automation for quick-service restaurant (QSR) drive-thru lanes. The company's core product is an AI-powered voice ordering system that captures spoken customer orders, applies natural language processing to interpret menu requests and modifiers, and integrates with restaurant point-of-sale systems to confirm and submit orders. The technology is purpose-built for the drive-thru acoustic environment — vehicle noise, accent variation, and menu-specific phrasing — rather than as a general-purpose speech API. The company has also extended its brand to TORI (ShiftCoach), an AI-powered drive-thru performance management system that operates on data collected from the ordering layer.
OpenCity operates as a private Delaware corporation founded in 2016 and sells primarily to enterprise QSR operators through direct partnerships. The company's go-to-market is anchored by a May 2023 strategic partnership with CKE Restaurants Holdings (parent of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's), where OpenCity deploys alongside Presto Automation and Valyant AI in a multi-vendor AI stack across nationwide drive-thru locations. The revenue model is recurring enterprise-based — likely per-location licensing or subscription — though pricing is not publicly disclosed. Cumulative capital raised is approximately $16.4 million across six disclosed rounds between 2017 and 2024, sourced from angels and early-stage funds including Sidecar Angels, Branch Venture Group, NXT Ventures, and Bharat Founders Fund. Leadership comprises CEO Nicholas Belsito, CTO Dave Arthurs, and Head of Engineering Vladimir Dumitrean, and the company operates with 11–50 employees focused on US QSR accounts.
OpenCity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenCity
- Legal name
- OpenCity, Inc.
- Website
- https://opencity.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenCity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Voice AI for Restaurants
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Drive-Thru–Focused QSR (THAFAAAN)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure (FSAGABAO)
Keywords
Where OpenCity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
OpenCity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- AI Voice Ordering Automation: OpenCity generates revenue by providing AI voice ordering automation to fast food restaurant chains. The company partners with restaurant operators to deploy its technology across drive-thru locations, likely through licensing or subscription-based arrangements with enterprise restaurant customers.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
OpenCity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenCity develops an AI-powered voice ordering platform that automates order taking at quick-service restaurant (QSR) drive-thrus. The system uses natural language understanding to process spoken customer orders and integrates with restaurant point-of-sale (POS) systems to complete transactions, improve order accuracy, reduce wait times, and address labor shortages in the drive-thru lane.
Product overview
OpenCity is an AI technology company specializing in voice ordering automation for the fast food industry. The company's primary offering is an AI-powered voice ordering system deployed at drive-thru locations. OpenCity operates as part of a strategic partnership ecosystem with CKE Restaurants Holdings, alongside Presto Automation and Valyant AI, to provide comprehensive voice-ordering automation across Carl's Jr. and Hardee's locations nationwide. The technology enables restaurants to automate drive-thru order taking through speech recognition and natural language processing capabilities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TORI (ShiftCoach): AI-Powered Drive-Thru Performance Management system
Products and services
- OpenCity AI Voice Ordering Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- Partnership with CKE Restaurants deployed across nationwide drive-thru locations
Companies that use OpenCity
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
OpenCity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature1 record
OpenCity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- CKE Restaurants HoldingscoreIn May 2023, CKE Restaurants Holdings (parent company of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's) partnered with OpenCity along with Presto Automation and Valyant AI to implement AI-powered voice ordering across its drive-thru locations nationwide. This strategic partnership represents a core deployment of OpenCity's technology with a major quick-service restaurant operator serving thousands of locations.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
OpenCity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SoundHound for Restaurants: SoundHound's restaurant product line offers AI voice ordering for phone and drive-thru at QSR chains, competing directly with OpenCity in speech-based restaurant order automation.
- Hi Auto: Hi Auto builds conversational AI for QSR drive-thru ordering, with deployments at U.S. quick-service chains, making it a direct functional peer to OpenCity.
- Valyant AI: Valyant AI builds conversational AI for restaurant ordering, including drive-thru voice assistants, and is also co-deployed with OpenCity in CKE's nationwide rollout, representing the same product category and customer base.
- ConverseNow: ConverseNow provides AI voice ordering assistants for QSR drive-thru and phone channels, addressing the same labor-cost and order-accuracy pain points as OpenCity.
- Presto Automation: Presto Automation provides AI-driven voice ordering for drive-thru quick-service restaurants and is co-deployed with OpenCity at CKE Restaurants (Carl's Jr./Hardee's), making it the most directly comparable peer.
Broad incumbents
- Toast: Toast is a leading restaurant POS and technology platform that increasingly bundles voice/AI ordering capabilities, representing a broad incumbent that could expand into OpenCity's niche.
- Olo: Olo operates a leading digital ordering platform for restaurant chains, including integrations with voice and AI partners; it is a broad incumbent in restaurant digital ordering that intersects with OpenCity's downstream stack.
Emerging players
- Slang AI: Slang AI provides voice AI for restaurant phone ordering, focusing on the inbound call channel rather than drive-thru but serving the same QSR customer base.
- VOICEplug: VOICEplug offers AI voice commerce for restaurants including phone and drive-thru ordering, with a slightly broader voice commerce footprint but overlapping QSR use cases.
- Kepler Analytics: Kepler Analytics focuses on restaurant and drive-thru operations intelligence and customer experience measurement, an adjacent operational analytics peer given OpenCity's TORI performance management product.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
OpenCity social profiles
Digital presenceOpenCity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenCity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
OpenCity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenCity M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OpenCity
What does OpenCity do?
OpenCity develops an AI-powered voice ordering platform that automates order taking at quick-service restaurant (QSR) drive-thrus. The system uses natural language understanding to process spoken customer orders and integrates with restaurant point-of-sale (POS) systems to complete transactions, improve order accuracy, reduce wait times, and address labor shortages in the drive-thru lane.
Is OpenCity a public or private company?
OpenCity is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was OpenCity founded?
OpenCity was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OpenCity based?
OpenCity is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does OpenCity make money?
One revenue line is on record: AI Voice Ordering Automation.
Who are OpenCity's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SoundHound for Restaurants, Hi Auto, Valyant AI, ConverseNow and Presto Automation. Broad incumbents are Toast and Olo. Emerging players are Slang AI, VOICEplug and Kepler Analytics.
Does OpenCity have an API?
No public API is recorded for OpenCity.
What industry is OpenCity in?
OpenCity's product category is Voice AI for Restaurants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAAAN, Drive-Thru–Focused QSR, with a secondary code of FSAGABAO, POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure. Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 7372.