Yelp Acquires Restaurant Technology Company Nowait for $40 Million in Cash

Yelp has acquired Nowait, a restaurant technology company that developed a waitlist system and seating tool.

The news is no shocker: Yelp had previously made a strategic investment in Nowait and integrated its waitlist experience into the Yelp app, enabling restaurants to share real-time seating availability and providing a way for hungry diners to get in line remotely.

The deal, worth $40 million, was all-cash.

Nowait was founded in 2010. Today it is live at about 4,000 restaurants across the United States and Canada.

“The full integration of Nowait allows us to provide real-time seating availability that better equips diners to make informed decisions,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s chief executive officer. “With this acquisition, we’ll make even bigger strides in the restaurant industry by allowing Yelp users to more quickly move from search and discovery to transacting at a local business.”

“Together we’ll have the leading waitlist system in the restaurant industry paired with the largest engaged consumer base,” added Ware Sykes, Nowait’s chief executive officer.

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