Bestie Bite, a start-up that has developed an app dedicated to video reviews in the hospitality sector, has announced that it has closed a $700,000 investment round. The capital raised will enable the start-up to consolidate and expand its team in the areas of product, technology and business development, as well as enhance its artificial intelligence-based features. Part of the funds will support marketing and growth activities, with a focus on restaurateurs and users in major Italian cities and key international markets.
The capital was raised mainly through instruments SAFE and led by Techstars. The round includes the Zooga VC fund (founded by entrepreneurs with a significant exit in the hospitality sector) and Mamba Ventures, a company composed entirely of recognised founders such as Pietro Maria Picogna and Giacomo Gentili. The investment is completed by several Italian and international business angels, including Christian Marcon through Eff, Angelo La Rocca and Claudio Vaccaro, founder of Epicode.
“I invested in Bestie Bite in 2024 after meeting Carlotta and Caterina: two founders with rare clarity of vision, incredible resilience and an authentic human side that makes it a privilege to work with them. It took me just one meeting to realise that I would invest in them. I have already supported several companies in the hospitality sector and I know how complex this market is. But with them, it was clear: they would not stop until they found the right solution,” comments Martin Olczyk, managing director of Techstars and serial investor, in a statement. Eighteen months later, the results speak for themselves. Their ability to execute, listen to users and overcome every challenge with energy and optimism is why they are building something extraordinary, and this is only the beginning.
Born from the entrepreneurial experience of co-founders Carlotta Robbe Di Lorenzo (CEO) and Caterina Vertefeuille (COO), Bestie Bite was created with the aim of making restaurant discovery immediate and authentic for users, and marketing simple and accessible for every business. The two entrepreneurs boast complementary backgrounds in start-ups, hospitality and food and beverage: a shared journey that led them to identify video as the most transparent and reliable format for recounting an experience in a restaurant.
The start-up now consists of a team of four people: in addition to the founders, there is also Placido Falqueto, CTO, and Simone Ferretti (pictured in the photo).
“We built Bestie Bite based on a real problem we face every day: choosing a restaurant shouldn’t require luck or hours of reading unreliable reviews. This round allows us to accelerate a revolution that is already underway: restoring authenticity to the dining-out experience and giving every restaurateur simple tools to present themselves transparently,” comments Carlotta Robbe di Lorenzo.
Bestie Bite solves one of the most common problems when choosing a venue: unreliable text reviews, fragmented information and content dominated by influencers and sponsorships.
Thanks to AI applied to the hospitality industry, the app helps people discover restaurants, bars and hotels through short, real-life content created by users. It is enhanced by a cashback and gamification system that encourages the genuine sharing of experiences, whether positive or negative, as long as they are authentic.
The platform has already seen significant organic growth: over 70,000 registered users, 60,000 videos uploaded in more than 70 countries, and numerous viral moments that have propelled Bestie Bite into the top 10 most downloaded apps in Italy, surpassing global players on multiple occasions.
The authenticity of content becomes a tangible value for businesses in the hospitality sector: the app is the first marketing tool entirely managed by artificial intelligence, which collects real videos from users and transforms them into content ready for restaurateurs’ social media channels, managing everything via WhatsApp. AI also provides sentiment and performance insights that are useful for monitoring service quality in real time.
Among the first structured use cases, Pescaria stands out, using the platform to obtain reusable video content and continuous analysis of the customer experience.
“We started in Italy, but our ambition is global: we want to make Bestie Bite the standard for discovering and reviewing local businesses in every city around the world. This round allows us to take the next step, bringing our solution to the United States and opening up new opportunities for international partnerships,” adds Caterina Vertefeuille.
The roadmap includes expansion abroad: in January, the founders will fly to the United States, between San Francisco and New York, to launch a pilot project on the American market and develop collaborations with local partners: “We want to make discovering restaurants immediate and authentic for users, and marketing simple and accessible for every business.”
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©