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10/24/2000
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OpenTable Secures $42 Million in Financing From Top Venture Firms and Travel Industry Leaders
Company Unveils Plans to Provide Fully Networked Software Solutions ã Aggregate Restaurants Worldwide and Connect Them Directly to Hotels, Travel Agents and Consumers
NEW YORK, NY, Internet World Fall ã booth # 4073 (October 24, 2000) - OpenTable (www.opentable.com), the leading provider of Internet-enabled customer relationship management (CRM), marketing, yield management and reservations solutions to the $500 billion global foodservice industry, today announced that it has secured $42 million in mezzanine financing. The company also announced aggressive plans to extend its offering of networked applications for the hospitality industry; delivering a full suite of Internet and software solutions to connect restaurants, hotels and consumers. OpenTable¼s technology solutions bring restaurants the applications they need to drive revenue and profitability, simplify operations, enhance guest relationships and effectively compete in today¼s marketplace.
Investors in the company¼s financing round include leading venture capital firms Benchmark Capital, Adam Dell¼s Impact Venture Partners, Integral Capital, Epoch Partners, Comdisco Ventures and Upstart Capital. A strategic investment comes from Worldspan ã providers of global electronic distribution of travel information, Internet products and connectivity, and electronic commerce capabilities for travel agencies, travel service providers and corporations worldwide.
„We¼re pleased to have the support of such a strong group of investment partners working with us to bring our Internet and software solutions to the restaurant community,¾ said Jeff Edwards, the company¼s CEO. „OpenTable has clearly established itself as the undisputed leader in online reservations, yield management and CRM solutions. Our current customers are more than 1100 of the nation¼s most well-respected restaurants and hospitality companies, and our customer base continues to grow rapidly. This capital infusion and the leverage of our new partners will enable us to quickly scale to meet increasing demand for our products and bring to market exciting new technologies.¾
New Restaurant Solutions
OpenTable will soon be releasing OTRestaurant ã a web-based solution that enables restaurateurs to remotely access reservation data and reports, and dynamically update Dining Rewards in order to effectively and quickly manage yields. Other OpenTable products currently in development include centralized database solutions to enable restaurant groups to efficiently manage reservations and customer databases for multiple locations, executive-level reporting applications, Internet marketing tools, anywhere/anytime access to OpenTable¼s electronic reservation book (ERB), ã and ERB integration with point-of-sale (POS) systems for improved operational forecasting. The company is also working on International versions of its ERB and plans to launch its service in France within the next few weeks.
Delivering Reservations Through All Available Channels
OpenTable is currently selling OTConcierge ã the company¼s Internet-based restaurant reservation solution for hotel concierges ã to leading hotels in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC, and plans aggressive nationwide distribution to begin next quarter. OTAdmin is available now in all of OpenTable¼s nineteen markets, and is delivering business diners to OpenTable¼s partner restaurants via an online interface designed especially to meet the needs of corporate assistants and travel planners. OpenTable is working with Worldspan and other global distribution systems to extend the reach of OTTravel, the company¼s solution to enable quick Internet-based dining reservations for travel agents. As part of its commitment to drive business to its restaurant partners through all available channels, OpenTable has partnered with leaders in voice recognition and wireless application development to deliver its restaurant search and reservation functionality via telephone and mobile devices.
„OpenTable is transforming the restaurant business; using technology to drive revenue to its customers from both consumers and businesses," said Roger McNamee, co-founder of Integral Capital Partners. „Based on the restaurant industry's enthusiasm for and dedication to OpenTable's solutions, the exponential lead the company has over its nearest competitor and their experienced and dedicated management, we are proud to join the team and contribute to OpenTable's future successes.¾
„Foodservice is the second-largest industry in the US behind the auto industry,¾ said Bill Gurley, managing general partner at Benchmark Capital and a new member of OpenTable¼s board of directors. „OpenTable¼s solutions are leading a hi-tech revolution in foodservice. The fact that OpenTable is able to attract blue-chip funding in today¼s highly competitive capital markets highlights their unquestionable leadership in this emerging category. The team at OpenTable knows restaurants and hotels inside-out, and despite their phenomenal rate of growth they remain committed to 100 percent satisfaction for every customer, whether it¼s a large group or an individual restaurant or hotel.¾
About OpenTable, Inc.
OpenTable, Inc. is the leading provider of Internet-enabled customer relationship management (CRM), marketing, yield management and reservations solutions to the $500 billion global foodservice industry. The company¼s proprietary electronic reservation book (ERB) automatically builds a comprehensive customer database which enables restaurants to manage yields, communicate with diners more efficiently, enhance their customer service, and conduct highly targeted on- and off-line marketing campaigns.
OpenTable introduced real-time online reservations to the restaurant industry in 1998, and now has products that deliver the conveniences of 24/7 online reservations to hotel concierges (OTConcierge), administrative assistants (OTAdmin), and travel agents (OTTravel). Dining consumers can tap into the OpenTable network and make reservations online at www.opentable.com, and also through the company¼s many distribution and content partners including American Express, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe and The Los Angeles Times. OpenTable¼s customers include leading hotel chains and more than 1100 of the nation¼s top restaurants.
About Primary Investors
Benchmark Capital
At Benchmark Capital, the company's mission is to help talented entrepreneurs build great technology companies. The company's past investments include eBay, Webvan Group, Kana Communications, and Red Hat Software. For more information, visit the company's website at www.benchmark.com, or call the Menlo Park, CA offices at 650.854.8180.
Impact Venture Partners
Impact Venture Partners is a New York-based Venture Capital Firm that invests in companies who are redefining consumer and business commerce and the management of information technology for the 21st Century. Founded by Adam R. Dell, Impact invests in promising, early-stage Internet organizations; specifically ASP, Internet and E-Business, and Content Infrastructure Companies. More information about Impact is available online at www.impactvp.com or by calling 212.372.8732.
Archery Capital
Archery Capital is a New York-based firm specializing in venture capital opportunities, with a particular focus on Internet technology and the e-commerce industry. Established in 1996, Archery Capital consistently has been on the leading edge of high tech investing and continues to seek and provide capital, strategic advice, and other resources to emerging global market leaders.
Comdisco Ventures
Formed in 1987, Comdisco Ventures is a leading provider of debt and equity related financing to venture capital backed companies. It is a division of Comdisco, Inc., a NYSE listed global technology services management company. With more than $3 billion committed in financings since inception, Comdisco Ventures has the financial strength and diversity of financing products to be a long-term financing partner with its portfolio companies. Comdisco Ventures¼ portfolio consists of more than 800 companies in the networking/communications, Internet, software/computer services, hardware/semiconductors, biotech/medical devices, and media/consumer products industries.
Comdisco Ventures is headquartered in Menlo Park, California and has offices in Boston, Massachusetts and Rosemont, Illinois. Additional information can be obtained at www.cdoventures.com.
Epoch
Epoch is a technology-enabled investment bank focused on high-growth companies and electronically connected institutional and individual investors. Epoch's unique approach to investment banking includes using technology to provide superior market intelligence to issuers and investors. For issuers, Epoch uses proprietary data to improve the pricing and distribution of securities. For investors, Epoch fuses its investment analysis with relevant third-party information and broadly distributes enhanced investment tools.
Through partnerships with Charles Schwab, Ameritrade and TD Waterhouse, Epoch has exclusive access to a fast growing, electronically connected investor base that consists of more than 10 million accounts. These accounts have combined investable assets of more than one trillion dollars and account for more than fifty percent of all online assets. Epoch's industry-leading venture capital partners include Benchmark Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Trident Capital and Reuters Venture Capital.
Integral Capital Partners
Integral Capital Partners is a family of private investment partnerships that invests in expansion-stage private and growth-stage public companies in the information technology and life sciences industries. Integral operates with the extended resources of a network that includes Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Silver Lake Partners, and a variety of the industry's premier venture capital firms. Private companies that Integral has invested in include Cerent (acquired by Cisco Systems), E.piphany, Rambus and Sycamore Networks.
Upstart Capital
Upstart Capital is a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm that invests in early-stage Internet enabling technologies and services. The firm's principals have been active early-stage investors whose prior investments include Mayan Networks, Cobalt Networks, Netactive, Sandpiper Networks, SAN Valley Systems, Coactive Networks and Entrust Technologies, among others.
Worldspan
Worldspan provides global electronic distribution of travel information, Internet products and connectivity, and electronic commerce capabilities for travel agencies, travel service providers and corporations worldwide. The company's three lines of business are travel supplier services, e-commerce, and global distribution systems for the worldwide travel industry. The Worldspan reservations system provides nearly 21,000 travel agencies and other users worldwide with travel data and booking capabilities for hundreds of the world's leading travel supplier services. Worldspan is the market leader in e-commerce for the travel industry, processing more than 50 percent of all online travel bookings.
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