Takeout platform Toast raises $250 million in Series E funding

Toast, a Boston-based restaurant management platform, raised $250 million in Series E funding co-led by TCV and Tiger Global Management at a $2.7 billion post-money valuation.

Why it matters: Restaurant margins continue to be stagnantly narrow, despite the industry's top-line revenue growth.

• Returning investors include Bessemer Venture Partners and T. Rowe Price. The company now has raised a total of around $500 million, including a $115 million Series D round last summer at a $1.4 billion post-money valuation.
• The bottom line: "As with the likes of Square, Lightspeed POS, and TouchBistro, Toast is much more than a simple [point-of-sale] technology provider: it's essentially a one-stop shop restaurant management platform, spanning front-of-house, back-of-house, online, and customer loyalty programs. It also serves up data and analytics covering trends such as sales patterns." — Paul Sawers, VentureBeat