Captain AI

Captain AI provides end-to-end delivery management software for restaurant chains that fulfil orders with their own drivers, third-party fleets, or a mix of both. The product suite is organised into five connected applications: a dispatch app (Android, iOS, web) with three levels of AI-powered dispatch automation, live tracking of own and third-party drivers, order batching and audible alerts; a driver app (Android, iOS) built for low data usage, with multi-language support, push-notification reminders, geofence-based automatic pick-up and delivery, and configurable failed-delivery and proof-of-delivery flows; a kitchen display system supporting walk-in, pick-up, drive-thru, delivery and third-party orders that uses a traffic-light system for just-in-time production and re-sequences cooking based on dispatch batching and routes, including multi-topping management for pizza chains; a branded customer tracking and feedback page delivered by SMS, email or embedded in a restaurant's own system; and a manager reporting layer with API-exportable custom reports, heatmaps, a hierarchical inheritance structure for complex enterprise organisations, and KPIs such as delivery times, geoverification performance and on-time performance.

The company also offers FleetShare, which connects restaurants to networks of white-label local delivery fleets such as Uber Direct and DoorDash Drive so operators can run hybrid delivery, outsourcing overflow orders while retaining their own branded tracking experience. Captain AI positions in-house fleets as having better unit economics than third-party marketplaces when supported by appropriate dispatch technology.

Captain AI is backed by GreenSky Ventures and Techstars, and reported total funding of $4.6 million USD as of October 2023. Techstars lists the company under artificial intelligence, SaaS, software and software development, at seed stage with 1-10 employees.

Founding story

Ryan Perera and Dihan Algama launched Henchman in 2014, a 60-minute delivery startup and early Deliveroo competitor, and built their own software to improve driver efficiency, forecast driver requirements and dispatch orders. Recognising that this internally built technology could be valuable to restaurant chains, they sold Henchman to Rico Logistics in 2016 and turned to building delivery software for restaurants. The company's own account dates its story to 2016, when a group of delivery operators and technologists set out to give restaurants software to automate delivery from kitchen to customer; BetaKit reports it was founded in 2017 in London, UK by Perera and Algama.

Business model

Captain AI licenses software to restaurant chains and enterprise operators, selling a suite of dispatch, driver, kitchen display, customer tracking and management-reporting applications, plus the FleetShare hybrid-delivery capability. Deals are enterprise-oriented, involving a pilot measured against pre-selected KPIs, custom solution design, implementation and training, dedicated instances for data and performance isolation, and ongoing support with recurring meetings.

Software sold to restaurant enterprises; the company engages prospects through demo bookings and pilots before scaling deployments across locations.

Traction

The company processes more than 500,000 deliveries per month across five continents. Pizza Pizza, with over 730 locations, is its anchor client and has rolled out Captain's customer tracking system across its restaurants over a multi-year relationship; other named users include CloudWaitress, Chef On Call and WFDT. As of the 2023 seed announcement the CEO characterised the company as having focused for years on product with go-to-market still at an early stage.

Latest developments

In October 2023 Captain AI closed a $2.1 million USD seed round led by GreenSky Ventures, announced its move and reincorporation in Canada, launched FleetShare for hybrid delivery, disclosed POS partnerships with Revel Systems and SpotOn, and said a smart kitchen system advising cooks on item sequencing based on which drivers return first was nearing launch.