Hostie, a San Francisco, CA-based AI-powered customer experience platform for restaurants, has raised $4 million in seed funding. 

Investors 

The round was led by Gradient Ventures, with additional support from Burst Capital, Thomas Layton, Mike Dodson, Michael Stoppelman, Behind Genius Ventures, and Daring Ventures. 

Gradient Ventures is Google's AI-focused venture capital fund, launched in 2017 to support early-stage startups developing artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. The fund leverages Google's extensive resources and expertise to provide capital, technical mentorship, and access to AI experts and boot camps for its portfolio companies. Gradient Ventures primarily invests in pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds. 

Hostie Use of Funds 

The company will use the funds to expand its engineering, customer success, and go-to-market teams, build deeper integrations with reservation and POS systems, enhance the product with AI features, and scale the platform to serve more restaurants across the U.S. 

About Hostie 

Hostie is an AI-powered communication platform designed specifically for the restaurant industry. It helps restaurants handle calls, texts, and emails automatically, streamlining operations while improving the guest experience. The platform integrates with major reservation systems and POS platforms to manage bookings and orders seamlessly. Hostie connects with existing POS, reservation, and marketing systems. Hostie's goal is to help restaurants never miss an order, never miss a reservation, and never leave money on the table. 

Funding Details 

Company: Hostie AI, Inc. 

Raised: $4.0M 

Round: Seed 

Funding Date: April 2025 

Lead Investor: Gradient Ventures 

Additional Investors: Burst Capital, Thomas Layton, Mike Dodson, Michael Stoppelman, Behind Genius Ventures, Daring Ventures 

Company Website: https://www.hostie.ai/  

Software Category: Communication Management, Customer Experience

Source: https://www.hostie.ai/blogs/4m-seed-round-gradient