Rome-based hospitality technology startup Bestie Bite has raised €1.5 million in fresh funding as the company expands its operations in the United States.
The funding round was led by the Grassi family through its holding company G&G, which is also a shareholder in E80 Group S.p.A. The investment was completed through a SAFE instrument.
The latest funding comes less than four months after Bestie Bite secured €700,000 in a previous round led by Techstars. With the new capital, the startup has raised a total of €2.2 million since launch.
Founded in 2024 by Carlotta Robbe Di Lorenzo and Caterina Vertefeuille, Bestie Bite operates a restaurant and hospitality discovery platform built around short-form video reviews created by users.
The platform allows consumers to discover restaurants, bars, and hotels through video-based content instead of relying only on written reviews. At the same time, the company provides hospitality businesses with artificial intelligence-based marketing tools.
According to the startup, younger consumers often struggle to identify reliable dining recommendations online because of sponsored content, influencer-driven promotions, and inconsistent reviews. In parallel, many restaurants lack the resources and expertise needed to manage digital marketing effectively.
Bestie Bite aims to address both challenges through its consumer application and AI-driven marketing platform.
The company said its platform uses artificial intelligence to analyse user preferences and search behaviour. Based on this analysis, the application recommends restaurants and hospitality venues through video content uploaded by verified users.
In addition, Bestie Bite has introduced authentication and fraud detection systems to improve the reliability of user-generated content. The platform also uses AI-powered video verification tools to identify misleading or inauthentic uploads.
To encourage participation, users can earn cashback rewards by uploading verified videos. The company also runs restaurant campaigns called “Missions”, where users receive additional incentives for creating content linked to partner businesses.
Beyond consumer discovery, Bestie Bite has developed an AI-based marketing system designed for restaurants and hospitality operators.
The company describes the tool as an “AI Marketing Employee” that helps businesses manage content creation and social media activity. Using a single customer video, the platform can generate a monthly editorial calendar and publish content across digital channels automatically.
The system also provides sentiment analysis and customer feedback tracking tools. As a result, restaurants can monitor customer experience trends and service performance in real time.
Bestie Bite said the platform has crossed 100,000 users and more than 120,000 uploaded videos across over 80 countries.
One of the company’s early enterprise clients includes Pescaria, which uses the platform to source reusable customer-generated video content and analyse customer feedback.
The startup is now prioritising expansion in the United States while continuing to grow its presence in Italy. Earlier this year, the founders explored the San Francisco market and established partnerships with local businesses, including Tony’s Pizza and North Beach Restaurant.
According to the company, the platform has already attracted thousands of users in San Francisco and collected reviews for more than 500 restaurants in the region.
Bestie Bite currently operates from its headquarters in Rome at the House of Emerging Technologies and also maintains an innovation hub at OGR Tech in Turin.
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