London-based financial platform Alpa has closed a $3.5 million pre-seed funding round to tackle delayed financial visibility in the hospitality industry. Led by daphni, the investment will fuel Alpa's real-time financial engine designed for restaurants and multi-site operators. The company aims to empower businesses with immediate insights, transforming how they manage profitability and make operational decisions.
Addressing a Critical Industry Gap
The European hospitality sector, despite its size, often struggles with fragmented and outdated financial reporting, creating a significant operational handicap. Many restaurant groups only see their profitability weeks after a month concludes, severely slowing down critical decision-making. This structural inefficiency prevents operators from reacting swiftly to market changes and internal performance metrics.
This challenge is highlighted by research showing 79 percent of restaurants want real-time data, yet 27 percent cannot track basic KPIs. Co-founder and CEO Anton Soulier notes this gap creates massive inefficiency in an industry running on thin margins. Alpa was founded to close this gap by providing the immediate financial clarity operators have been missing.
An Operator-Focused Financial Platform
Alpa's platform provides a live operational profit and loss view without relying on traditional bookkeeping workflows. By integrating with Point of Sale (POS) systems, banking data, and suppliers, it offers an up-to-the-minute financial snapshot. This operator-centric design ensures that managers can monitor margins, labor costs, and cash flow daily.
Soulier clarifies that Alpa does not replace accounting systems but adds the operational financial layer they have always lacked. This allows management to make informed decisions during the month instead of waiting for month-end reports. The platform is already being piloted with initial users, including Taster’s SpudBros Express, demonstrating its practical application.
Founders with Deep Industry Roots
The company is led by co-founders Anton Soulier and Jean-François Moy, who bring a potent mix of industry and technical expertise. Soulier was an early employee at Deliveroo and later founded Taster, a restaurant chain active in over 100 European cities. This experience exposed him to the fragmented financial infrastructure that Alpa now aims to fix.
Complementing Soulier’s background, Moy serves as co-founder and CTO, bringing technical leadership from his time at Vestiaire Collective. There, he oversaw the development of complex resale infrastructure for major luxury brands. Investor Pierre-Eric Leibovici of daphni praised the pair's rare blend of industry expertise and technical know-how.
Strategic Investment for Future Growth
The $3.5 million pre-seed round was led by daphni, with participation from True, 2100 Ventures, and others. The investment also attracted notable industry leaders like former Burger King France CEO Jérôme Tafani, underscoring confidence in Alpa's vision. This marks the company's first funding round, providing a solid foundation for its product roadmap.
The new capital will be allocated to strengthening Alpa’s core product and engineering teams. Key investment areas include enhancing its financial data infrastructure, expanding supplier integrations, and advancing its AI-driven automation capabilities. The immediate focus is on scaling the platform and growing its user base over the next year.
As vertical fintech reshapes traditional industries, Alpa is positioned to become the definitive financial operating system for hospitality. By providing real-time profitability insights and automated workflows, the platform addresses an urgent need within the sector. With fresh capital and experienced leadership, Alpa is set to empower operators across Europe to achieve greater control and scalability.