TouchBistro, providers of mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions for the food and beverage industry, today announced that it has received $4.5 million in seed funding. Relay Ventures led the round, with participation from angel investors. As part of the funding, John Albright, co-founder and Managing Partner of Relay Ventures is joining the TouchBistro board of directors. TouchBistro will use the funding to expand its presence in New York, open a San Francisco office, and translate its product into other languages to further accelerate its growth in global markets.

TouchBistro brings mobile innovation to the food and beverage industry, providing interactive tableside menus, order input tools, food preparation management in the kitchen, and tablet-based payments at checkout. Servers use the TouchBistro iPad app to take tableside customer orders, and instantly submit them to the kitchen and bar. This eliminates the need for servers to enter a customer's order into a separate, distant terminal, which minimizes order errors and increases the speed at which food and beverages are prepared and ultimately delivered to a customer.

'In a very short period of time, TouchBistro has become the go-to app for restaurants,' says Alex Barrotti, CEO of TouchBistro. 'This injection of funding will enable us to target new opportunities to grow our customer base.'

TouchBistro is currently used in 1,200 food and beverage operations of all sizes, from food trucks and small family-owned restaurants to national food chains. Since launching two years ago in the iTunes App Store, TouchBistro consistently ranks as the top grossing food and beverage app in 22 countries.

'We've seen the impact of mobile technology on so many different markets - from retail and education to healthcare - and now the restaurant industry can also use it as a platform to increase revenues and deliver an even greater level of customer service,' says Albright. 'With more than 600,000 restaurants in the U.S. alone, the opportunity for TouchBistro is significant.'

About TouchBistro

TouchBistro is a leader in iPad restaurant technology for cafes, bars, food trucks, nightlife venues and restaurants. The TouchBistro app is currently the number one top-grossing food and beverage app in 18 countries on the Apple® App Store(SM). TouchBistro offers a 45-day free trial, which can be converted to a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription. Additional information is available at www.touchbistro.com.

About Relay Ventures

Relay Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in passionate entrepreneurs disrupting incumbent industries and creating new markets with the power of mobile computing. Unlike other funds, Relay exclusively focuses on software for mobile (from the sensor to the cloud), creating an unparalleled set of networks and resources that tangibly help founders build world-class companies. With offices in Menlo Park and Toronto, the firm is active throughout North America. For additional information, visit www.relayventures.com.