Food-recommendation startup Foodspotting just announced that it has raised $3 million in its first round of institutional funding.
The San Francisco-headquartered site allows foodies to recommend (and share photographs of) dishes they like, bookmark foods they want, and look up the best options at a particular restaurant. The idea is that food decisions are often based on specific dishes rather than restaurants.
The company launched its iPhone application in March 2010 and says it now has more than 550,000 users. It&'s also attracting 300,000 visitors to its website each month. Comparing itself to the popular Internet radio app, Foodspotting says its goal is to become a4Athe Pandora of fooda4: a4ABy collecting structured data about what people are consuming, not just where, Foodspotting is in a unique position to surface smart recommendations from friends, experts and the crowd and to eventually expand beyond food into other products.a4
The round was led by BlueRun Ventures, with participation from previous investors. Foodspotting last raised $750,000 from Aydin Senkuta4a4s Felicis Ventures (Senkut also invested in VentureBeat), Dave McClurea4a4s 500 Startups, and others.
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Companies: Bluerun Ventures, Foodspotting
Companies: Bluerun Ventures, Foodspotting
Anthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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