Salt Lake City — Ovation, the leading guest experience platform for multi-unit restaurants, announced today the successful closure of a Series A round, bringing total funding to $9 million. Led by TIA Ventures, the investment will enable Ovation to continue developing even more powerful tools for multi-unit operators looking to connect with guests and improve.

Other investors in this round include continued support from Summit Capital, Peak Ventures, OneValley, Tenzing Capital, Rocky Woods Investments, Next Chapter Ventures, and prior angels. New investors include Jim Mizes, Jason Syversen, Tammy K. Billings, Erle Dardick, Christopher Sebes, AMARC Holdings, and Carin Stutz. York IE will continue to serve on the Board.

Zack Oates, CEO of Ovation, expressed his enthusiasm about the latest funding round. “I’m excited to welcome new investors into the Ovation Nation and thrilled at the amount of continued support from former investors. It is the result of an incredible team building incredible value and I’m so grateful for the ability we have to do even more!”

Wills Hapworth, General Partner at TIA Ventures explained the reason behind further investment from his firm. “Consumers work so hard for their dollars. They then spend their money at establishments trusting they will deliver great experiences. When that doesn’t happen it is disappointing, and even more frustrating when it feels like the brand doesn’t care. At the same time, we know it is really tough to run a great business that delivers flawless service all the time. Ovation solves this complicated problem, giving brands real-time eyes and ears into the consumer’s experience to make improvements and build loyal customers for life. Most importantly, it makes life better for everyone. This is why we are so excited about a future with Ovation everywhere.”

Ovation’s platform helps thousands of restaurants, including Friendly’s, PDQ, Mo’ Bettahs, MOOYAH, and Big Chicken, get more feedback through frictionless surveys, improve operations through AI-driven insights, recover guests through real-time communication, and boost online reputation.

After ordering online or scanning a QR code in-store, guests are sent a text or directed to the platform where they are asked two simple survey questions about their most recent visit using a scale of five emojis. Those who indicate a positive experience are prompted to leave a Google review, buy merchandise, or engage further, while guests with negative responses are asked to share more details, enabling operators to respond in real time with AI technologies to resolve issues immediately.

The new capital will be used to strengthen the Ovation platform, expand Ovation’s market presence, and enhance customer support capabilities. With the additional resources, Ovation plans to introduce new features that will further simplify the feedback process and provide deeper insights for restaurant operators.

Among these new features is the recently released Automated Responses tool, which allows artificial intelligence to respond to Ovation feedback, acknowledging guests without taking up staff time. This tool is designed to ensure no guest falls through the cracks by providing a customizable response strategy depending on guest ratings, delay times, and custom response templates.

As Ovation continues to grow, the company remains committed to helping restaurants of all sizes improve their guest experience and operational efficiency. With the ongoing support of its investors and clients, Ovation is poised to lead the way in transforming how restaurants interact with their guests.

About Ovation

Ovation is a guest experience platform for multi-unit restaurants that starts with a 2-question survey to drive revenue, streamline guest recovery, and easily improve operations. Thousands of restaurants, including leading brands like Big Chicken, MOOYAH, and Friendly’s, are using Ovation to get more feedback through frictionless surveys, recover guests through real-time communication, boost their online reputations, and improve through AI-driven insights. Discover how Ovation can transform your restaurant’s guest experience at ovationup.com.

About TIA Ventures

TIA Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund focused on helping B2B software companies scale into industry standards. We are customer-obsessed, relentless about creating winning teams, operators and builders, long-term partners, consistent, and proven.