Ritual Gobbles Up $43 Million for Order-Ahead Dining App from Insight Venture Partners (WSJ)

Ritual Technologies Inc., whose app allows restaurant customers to order ahead for takeout food, has raised $43.5 million in a new round led by Insight Venture Partners. The Series B will help the Toronto-based startup double its staff and make the app available in several major U.S. cities over the next year. People use the app to order food or coffee at a restaurant, pay in advance with a credit card and get notified when it’s ready for pickup. Ritual doesn’t mark up menu items but does take a small cut on orders by new customers that the company’s app sends to restaurants, Chief Executive Ray Reddy said.

Since its founding in 2014, Ritual has signed up more than 1,000 establishments and is available in Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.