Nory, the AI-native restaurant management startup, has raised $37 million in Series B funding to accelerate the rollout of its platform, which helps hospitality businesses cut costs, streamline operations, and improve profitability.
The round, led by Swedish investor Kinnevik, brings Nory’s total funding to $63 million. Existing backers including Accel also participated, underscoring investor confidence in the company’s vision and growth trajectory.
The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for the UK’s hospitality sector, which is grappling with rising employment costs, inflation, and labour shortages. Official figures show pubs, bars, and restaurants are closing at a rate of two per day, with industry groups warning that April’s new employment taxes are piling yet more pressure on already strained margins.
Nory was founded by Conor Sheridan, a hospitality industry insider who saw the need for smarter, AI-driven tools tailored to restaurants’ unique operational challenges. Its system spans business intelligence, inventory, workforce management, payroll and finance, delivering an end-to-end back-office solution.
By automating time-consuming tasks like rota planning, procurement, and sales analysis, Nory says restaurants can save over 100 hours of admin per site per month, reduce operating costs by nearly 20%, and increase core net profits by as much as 50%.
The platform’s AI learns from historical operational and sales data to generate real-time insights and recommendations for staff, effectively acting as an AI assistant for frontline hospitality teams.
Sheridan said: “At a time when hospitality is under pressure, we are putting restaurants back in control of their profitability and their destiny. The future of hospitality isn’t robots or gimmicks. It’s AI that makes restaurants smarter, leaner, and more profitable, with automation that frees teams up to focus on what matters: great food and even greater customer experiences.”
Nory already counts major brands among its users, including Black Sheep Coffee, Jamie Oliver Group, and Dave’s Hot Chicken. The Series B investment will allow it to expand its footprint in the US, a key growth market, and hire world-class data scientists to refine its proprietary algorithms and deploy fully autonomous AI assistants.
Jose Gaytan de Ayala, who led the deal for Kinnevik, said Nory was “rewriting the hospitality playbook”. “As the sector faces rising costs and complexity, Nory stands apart as the only AI-native platform purpose built to help restaurants meet and overcome these headwinds. We were impressed by the strong customer feedback, which highlighted the quality of Nory’s platform and the meaningful ROI it delivers for customers. With our support, Nory will go even deeper on AI and bring the next wave of innovation to restaurant owners in the UK and beyond.”
The funding underscores a growing appetite for AI solutions in hospitality, a sector worth billions to the UK economy but struggling to stay profitable amid higher costs and shifting consumer habits. With margins under strain and administrative burdens growing, Nory’s pitch of smarter automation plus higher profitability is resonating with both investors and operators.
Jamie Young
Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.
When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.
