Kinnevik leads Nory's USD 37m Series B round
A problem worth solving
Ten years ago, dining out meant calling ahead for a reservation, guessing the best dish on the menu, and awkwardly splitting the bill at the end. Today, we book with a tap, follow online recommendations, and pay in seconds. Technology has transformed the front-of-house experience. However, the back of house, where staffing, inventory, and operations are managed, remains a patchwork of disconnected systems.
The global restaurant industry generates ~USD 3.5 trillion in annual sales, yet average profitability remains in the low single digits. Despite back of the house accounting for 60 percent of the industry’s costs, operators continue to rely on a mix of tools for staff hiring and scheduling, inventory, procurement, and compliance, most of which operate in silos that fail to provide visibility into performance or control over costs.
Hit by rising taxes, inflation, and skilled labour shortages, the hospitality sector struggles to balance providing a great service experience while protecting their margins. Today, restaurant owners are looking at leveraging technology to enhance operational efficiency and “do more with less”.
Nory: the AI operating system for restaurants
Built by an operator for operators, Nory unifies workflows and leverages AI to automate decisions and improve the restaurant’s bottom line in a sector defined by high complexity and thin economics. In fact, the first version of the platform was developed to help manage Conor’s own restaurant chain, Mad Egg.
Nory simultaneously targets the two largest controllable cost lines in the back of house operations: labour and inventory. Its Workforce Management & Payroll, and Inventory & Procurement modules are designed to make smarter staffing and purchasing decisions through real time, data driven recommendations. Restaurants using Nory have reduced operating costs by up to 20 percent and increased net profits by more than 50 percent.
To power the platform, Nory has built the most advanced AI intelligence for restaurants. It learns from each restaurant’s operational patterns to generate accurate sales forecasts, centralize actionable insights, and streamline workflows. Nory’s AI works 24/7 shifts, ingesting and analysing data, and for the first time proactively recommending improvements to operators.
Increasing customer profitability is at the heart of Nory’s mission, with every feature designed around measurable customer impact. This year, Nory is on track to serve close to 10 percent of the UK and Ireland multi location restaurant market and is already winning in the United States, where it plans to significantly expand its presence over the next 12 months.
Why we invested
At Kinnevik, we back vertical software platforms that can become the operating system of their industry. We are drawn to large markets where AI can unlock new opportunities and drive tangible outcomes for customers.
What stood out with Nory is its obsessive focus on increasing restaurants’ profitability. Every feature is built to help operators control costs and protect margins, an approach that resonates deeply in an industry defined by tight economics. The results speak for themselves: measurable savings and healthier bottom lines.
Equally important is the founder. Conor brings the perspective of an operator who has lived the challenges Nory is solving. That insider experience gives the company a unique edge in product design and customer adoption. In Conor’s words: this is just the beginning. We are proud to back him and the Nory team as they redefine how restaurants operate.
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