Blink, the leading employee experience platform for frontline workforces, today announced it has raised $17 million in funding from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), the growth equity fund affiliated with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Blink also announced a new global partnership with Shake Shack following a successful integration of its workforce management solutions.
As restaurants – and frontline-driven industries more broadly – continue to navigate high employee turnover, margin pressure, and an increasingly complex operating environment, Blink is helping organizations address some of their most persistent workforce challenges. By improving employee communication and engagement, Blink enables teams to stay connected, informed, and aligned – driving higher staff satisfaction, reducing turnover, and increasing overall productivity. Blink’s frontline workforce solutions empower employees to access critical company information, tools and communicate seamlessly across teams, from corporate to frontline staff, all in one unified platform. In 2025, adoption of Blink’s self-service employee tools, which enable team members to swap shifts, access pay stubs, and have more agency over their work, grew 300% year over year, and employees opened the Blink app seven times a day on average to stay informed, efficient, and connected.
“We are excited to partner with Danny and the EHI team and believe that their commitment to delivering Enlightened Hospitality is more relevant now than ever,” said Sean Nolan, Founder & CEO of Blink. “We also are thrilled to launch with Shake Shack, an industry leader who shares our commitment to a strong corporate culture that begins on the restaurant floor. As we embark on this next chapter of growth, we look forward to partnering with forward thinking brands who are empowering their people to win in this competitive market”
Blink will use the funds to invest in its product and engineering teams and drive continued innovation across its AI-first platform, while also accelerating its go-to-market strategy to reach more customers across the hospitality industry and beyond.
“I have always believed that Enlightened Hospitality – the ethos that when you take care of your people, your people take care of your customers – is how to create sustaining success in any business” said Danny Meyer, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Enlightened Hospitality Investments and Founder of Union Square Hospitality Group. “Blink’s technology puts people first by making sure team members are equipped and supported so they can, in turn, deliver their very best. Blink’s smart technology will help shape the future of restaurants.”
Blink IQ, the company’s AI workforce insights platform, gives management real-time insight into trends such as workforce feedback, productivity, sentiment, and turnover to help companies identify issues early, take action fast, and improve both engagement and operational performance.
“At Shake Shack, everything starts with our people. The energy in our Shacks and the Enlightened Hospitality our teams bring to life each day are what make us special,” said Luke DeRouen, Chief Communications Officer at Shake Shack. “As we continue to grow, we are focused on giving our teams simple tools that keep them informed, connected, and engaged. Blink will help us do exactly that, enabling a more connected and consistent experience across our Support Center and Shack teams.”
Blink works with some of the world’s most recognized hospitality brands across the restaurant and hotel industry and continues to expand across verticals, including retail, transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics. In 2025 alone, the company added over 700,000 users in the hospitality sector.
By centering the platform on the employee experience, Blink helps restaurants streamline operations, strengthen culture, boost retention, and elevate every guest experience. To learn more about Blink, visit www.joinblink.com.
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