Toast, Inc.
A maker of cloud-based software and payment hardware built for restaurants and food-and-beverage shops, Toast bundles point-of-sale terminals like the Toast Go, online ordering, delivery, loyalty programs, and even small loans through Toast Capital, all in one subscription platform. Founded in 2011 by former tech-industry engineers who wanted to modernize restaurant operations, the company took its name from the breakfast staple—a warm, friendly nod to the businesses it serves. Its Toast IQ assistant can answer operators' questions in plain language, pulling insights from a restaurant's own sales data.