Toast, Inc.

Toast is a cloud-based restaurant management platform. Aman Narang, Steve Fredette, and Jonathan Grimm founded it in 2012 in Boston. They built it specifically for the unique challenges restaurants face, from single-location cafes to large multi-unit chains.

At the center is a cloud-based point-of-sale system running on custom Android hardware. It processes orders, manages menus, tracks inventory, and handles payments across dine-in, takeout, delivery, and catering. Kitchen display systems, handheld ordering devices, and self-service kiosks complete the hardware setup.

The software suite goes much further. Online ordering and delivery management. Marketing and loyalty programs. Team management, payroll, scheduling, and tip distribution. Supply chain and invoice management. Guest engagement tools. Toast Capital provides working capital advances based on payment data. Toast Tables handles reservations and waitlists.

The hardware matters. Toast designs its own Android-based terminals, displays, kitchen printers, and handheld devices, all optimized for restaurant conditions where heat, speed, and durability are non-negotiable. A device that freezes during a Friday dinner rush isn't an option. Hardware sales act as a customer acquisition tool for the higher-margin recurring software and payment processing revenue.

Toast targets restaurants of all sizes across the US. The sales approach emphasizes in-person demos and fast implementation. About 120,000+ restaurant locations use the platform.

Annual revenue is roughly $4.5 billion across three segments: subscription services, financial technology (payment processing and Toast Capital), and hardware. Financial technology revenue dominates, driven by payment volume. Overall gross margins sit around 37% because hardware and payment processing carry lower margins. Software margins exceed 60%. The company recently hit GAAP operating profitability.

Toast AI includes demand forecasting, automated inventory ordering, guest sentiment analysis, and menu optimization recommendations. AI also powers fraud detection in payment processing.

With about 5,500 employees and strong share of the US restaurant tech market, Toast has become the comprehensive operating system for the restaurant industry.