YETiCO raises seed for its tap-a-device to simply divide the bill and tip restaurant staff

Earlier this year European startup Sunday raised $100 million in a Series A raise led by U.S. investors Coatue and DST Global, just five months after launching. The proposition was relatively simple and pretty much tailor-made for the COVID-19 era: diners scan a QR code to download an app, and then split the bill between friends as well as tip the staff, without needing to interact with wait staff. The proposition is that restaurants get to turn tables around faster and increase average spend, and wait staff generally get more tips.

Now a U.K. startup is entering the space, this time with a LOT less funding, but what appears to be an even more seamless user experience.

The Tap to Tip device comes with pre-loaded software connected to the restaurant. The whole bill is paid by all diners via this device, just by them tapping it. It then captures data for the restaurant, and generates tips for the staff.

The startup behind the device, YETiCo, has now raised a £300,000 seed funding round, backed by angels including DesignMyNight founder Nick Telson, Skimlinks co-founder Alicia Navarro, Masabi founder Ben Whitaker, Simon Squibb, Dot Major of the band London Grammar and Lego CTO Atul Bhardwaj.

Launched in 2019, YETiCo offers restaurants a bill-splitting, pay-at-table restaurant device. The startup claims it’s driven £10 million in transaction volume in its first year, with restaurant clients such as Maray Restaurants, Jones Family Kitchen, Wuns Tearoom and Cub.

The Tap to Tip device now has an exclusive distribution deal with TiPJAR and is now available in over 300 bars and restaurants across the U.K.

Founder Oliver Pugh said: “We really bet on hospitality being about experience versus becoming an extension of Deliveroo just in a restaurant post COVID. That bet is now looking correct, as TableYeti alone has a run rate of £1 million ARR with global brand name restaurants.”