Zest, a new restaurant discovery app powered by credit card transaction data, launches publicly
Zest, a newly launched restaurant discovery app founded in November 2024, uses credit card transaction data and AI to recommend restaurants based on where users actually dine. The app links to users' credit cards via Plaid to import dining transactions and create personalized recommendations while allowing users to follow friends and curated profiles. The startup has raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding and attracted over 100,000 visits since its public launch.
Zest is a restaurant discovery application that differentiates itself by leveraging real transaction data rather than user-generated reviews or wishlists. Users link their credit cards through the financial services platform Plaid, which imports dining and beverage transactions to create a personal dining map. The app then uses AI to generate personalized restaurant recommendations based on spending patterns and frequency, while filtering out fast-casual and fast-food establishments. Founded by Mario Gomez-Hall (previously Head of Design at Saturn, which was acquired by Snap) and technical co-founder Alex Moller (with experience at Apple), the company has secured $1.8 million in pre-seed funding from investors including Alexis Ohanian's 776 and Steve Jang's Kindred Ventures. Since launching publicly, the app has accumulated over 100,000 visits and allows users to follow friends and creator-curated profiles for dining suggestions.
What's missing
The article does not discuss potential privacy concerns or regulatory considerations related to linking credit card data to a third-party app, nor does it address how the company plans to monetize the service or generate revenue.
What different sources said
- TechCrunchCenter
Zest launches a restaurant discovery app powered by where people actually eat
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