Polish venture capital fund Smartlink Partners has invested EUR 1 million in the form of a CLA (Convertible Loan Agreement) in Choice, a technology company offering a comprehensive and innovative SaaS platform for the restaurant industry. The platform enables the digitization of customer service both in restaurants and online. With the new capital, the company will intensify its development in the Polish market and expand into new markets—Romania and Hungary. The CLA will be part of a larger investment round, as the company is actively raising funds for its largest Series A round to date.
– “Choice has proven its ability to operate effectively in Poland and has enormous potential on the international stage. We expect the company to scale its operations multiple times within the next 24 months. That’s why we decided to invest now instead of waiting for the next funding round. The example of Toast Inc., a U.S. company generating over USD 1 billion in quarterly revenue, perfectly illustrates the market’s potential,” said Paweł Szydłowski, Managing Partner at Smartlink Partners.
In 2024, Choice was recognized as one of the fastest-growing startups in Central Europe by Sifted (https://sifted.eu/leaderboards/central-europe-2024). With the new capital, the company will focus on expanding its operations in Poland and neighboring countries, aiming to become the undisputed leader in Central and Eastern Europe.
Currently operating in seven markets across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including Poland, Choice helps restaurants digitize customer service—both online and on-premise. The platform enables restaurants to create their own websites, accept commission-free online orders, manage reservations, and offer payments via QR codes. Choice QR integrates with POS systems and food delivery platforms such as Wolt, Uber Eats, Glovo, Foodora, and Bolt.
More than 5,500 active restaurants currently use Choice, generating over 1 million orders per month, with a total transaction value of USD 20 million monthly. In the next 3–5 years, Choice plans to have 50,000 restaurants generating USD 100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
The company’s vision is to become a comprehensive solution for restaurants, encompassing customer behavior analysis and management. Choice does not plan to develop its own POS or fiscal cash register software; instead, it collaborates with and integrates local POS systems. This approach allows restaurants to leverage modern tools while maintaining their existing systems, avoiding costly or complex changes. As a result, the platform contributes to customer behavior digitization, revenue growth, customer retention improvement, and operational cost optimization.
Choice has three main offices in Prague, Warsaw, and Kyiv, with a growing team of over 110 employees. The company launched its operations in Poland three years ago and now has over 2,000 registered restaurants. Its clients include well-known chains such as Thai Wok, Sushi World, Pizza Factory, Bombay Masala, and the recently onboarded food court Hala Koszyki. Choice has partnered with local POS systems like IDPOS, Dotykacka, Papu, and Serve, as well as with courier service providers such as Wolt Drive and Glovo On Demand, offering more than 50 additional integrations on its platform.
The Choice Team in Poland (Photo: Company)
A year ago, Choice QR successfully completed a funding round, securing approximately PLN 10 million (USD 2.5 million). The round was led by J&T Ventures, a venture capital fund belonging to the well-known Czech-Slovak J&T Group. Czech VC funds Reflex Capital and Presto Ventures also participated in the round. Since its inception, Choice QR has raised a total of PLN 16.5 million (USD 4.5 million) in funding from investors.
– “We first met Alex Ilyash at the How To Web conference in Bucharest in October 2024, and since then, we have closely monitored Choice QR’s growth. Although the company already operates on a significant scale, it achieved double-digit percentage growth within just a few months, improving key metrics and significantly reducing its burn rate,” added Szydłowski (Smartlink Partners).
So far, the Smartlink fund has finalized 10 investments and is in advanced investment discussions with additional projects across multiple CEE countries. Smartlink invests in companies in the SaaS (HRtech, AI), Medtech, and Deeptech (Spacetech) sectors that not only have established products but also demonstrate growing market traction and revenue generation—ranging from seed to Series A rounds. In addition to providing funding, the fund actively connects its portfolio companies with business owners within its network (including entrepreneurs from the CC community). The fund’s partners also engage in supporting portfolio companies in their subsequent funding rounds.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/smartlink-partners-inwestuje-1-mln-eur-w-choice-startup-foodtech-25250
