Apéro lands $5M to bring bilingual AI reservations to Québec restaurants
What's the deal? Now Book ItDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has made a $5 million Series A investment in apéroDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an AI-powered restaurant reservation and guest management platform built for Québec's hospitality market. The deal ran through the Valsoft Venture ProgramDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an initiative of Valsoft CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → that backs new AI software businesses within its ecosystem.
What does apéro do? It combines reservations, table and floor-plan management, waitlists, guest profiles, automated communications, event management, and no-show prevention in one platform. Its centrepiece is a 24/7 AI receptionist that handles incoming calls in French and English.
How the product works: The receptionist can take, modify, and cancel reservations, answer common questions, collect allergy and special-occasion details, and send confirmations by text. Because it connects directly to apéro's booking system, telephone and digital reservations are managed in one place. Unlike a standalone chatbot, it works with each restaurant's availability and booking rules.
The pitch: apéro charges a flat monthly subscription rather than per-reservation or per-cover fees, letting restaurants grow bookings without added transaction costs. It does not run a consumer marketplace, so venues keep control of their guest relationships and data.
"Restaurants are incredibly complex businesses, but the technology they use doesn't need to be," said chief executive officer Carl Lambert. "We built Apero around what Québec operators actually need every day."
Why now? Restaurants are increasingly turning to AI for tasks that pull staff away from front-of-house service — notably phone reservations and routine inquiries. apéro targets independent restaurants and multi-location groups across Québec first.
The backer: Now Book It has operated in restaurant reservation technology since 2015 and serves thousands of venues across Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. It is part of the Valsoft portfolio, which acquires and develops vertical-market software companies.
The signal: The investment extends Now Book It's Canadian footprint while deepening its use of AI across restaurant operations. For Valsoft, apéro is a localised bet — bilingual automation paired with direct ownership of customer data — on a hospitality sector steadily moving toward AI.
Read more: citybiz.co
Image credit: PortoBay Trade
