loyalty-rewards
(5)
CAVA
A Rockville sit-down spot run by three childhood friends turned into a Mediterranean chain worth billions - and it did it selling harissa and whipped feta to people who a decade ago could not pronounce either.
utu
utu is a Singapore-based travel-technology and fintech company that helps international shoppers get more from their VAT and GST refunds. Instead of accepting the standard cash refund (often only 55-60% of the tax paid), travelers use utu to upsize their refund - taking up to 40% more value in airline miles or hotel points, or converting refunds into retail vouchers worth more than the tax paid. Founded by tax-free-shopping veterans Asad and Ameer Jumabhoy, utu links travelers, retailers, duty-free operators, VAT refund companies, airlines and hotels into a single rewards ecosystem across markets including Italy, Switzerland and the UAE.
Blackbird Labs
Blackbird Labs is a New York-based restaurant technology company that pairs a consumer dining app with a blockchain-based payments and loyalty network. Founded in 2022 by Resy and Eater co-founder Ben Leventhal, Blackbird lets diners check in at participating restaurants, earn a rewards currency called $FLY, and pay their bill through the app, while giving restaurants lower payment-processing fees and direct ownership of their guest data. The company runs its own layer-2 network, Flynet, and operates in New York, San Francisco, and Charleston with roughly 1,000 restaurants on the platform.
Fintiv
Fintiv is an Austin-based fintech infrastructure company that builds patented, white-label digital wallet ecosystems for telcos, banks and brands. Formerly known as Mozido, it pioneered the Trusted Services Manager (TSM) system for NFC tap-and-pay and says it has deployed wallet ecosystems across more than 35 countries. Today it positions its stack as a bridge from Web2 payments to Web3, adding digital-asset tokenization, real-time clearing and cross-border rails alongside its long-held mobile-wallet patent portfolio.
Innowi Inc.
Innowi Inc. is a Santa Clara, California restaurant-technology company that builds an all-in-one point-of-sale and ordering platform. Its stack spans POS, self-service kiosks, tabletop QR ordering, online ordering and delivery, a kitchen display system, marketing and rewards, analytics, and employee management - designed to help independent and multi-location restaurants cut third-party commission fees, sync orders across channels, and run leaner operations.