Star Metro - Now Book It Makes a Series A Investment of $5M in Apero, an AI-Powered Restaurant Reservation Platform Built for Québec

MONTRÉAL, QC / ACCESS Newswire / October 7, 2026 / Now Book It, a restaurant reservation technology company within Valsoft Corporation Inc. ("Valsoft"), today announced a Series A investment of $5M in Apero, an AI-powered restaurant reservation platform designed specifically for the Québec hospitality market. The investment is part of the Valsoft Venture Program initiative, which supports the development of new AI software businesses within the Valsoft ecosystem.

Built for Québec restaurants, Apero brings together the tools operators use to manage reservations and guest interactions in one platform. Restaurants can manage online reservations, live floor plans, waitlists, guest profiles, confirmations, groups and events, while keeping control of their guest relationships and data.

The platform also includes a 24/7 AI receptionist designed to handle one of the restaurant industry's most persistent operational challenges: answering the phone while teams are serving guests.

It can answer incoming calls in English or French, take, modify and cancel reservations, answer common questions about the restaurant, capture information such as allergies and special occasions, and confirm reservations by text. Because it works directly with the reservation system, phone bookings and digital bookings are managed from the same source of truth.

The result is more than a reservation platform: Apero is a growth and communication platform for restaurants, designed to help them capture more demand without adding administrative work to the dining room.

Built Around How Québec Restaurants Operate

Apero was developed around a simple principle: restaurant technology should make the operation simpler, not introduce another layer of complexity.

The platform includes reservation and table management, automated guest communications, waitlist management, guest profiles, no-show prevention, group and event management, and mobile access so restaurant teams can manage the dining room from a phone, tablet or computer.

Apero also uses a flat monthly subscription model with no per-reservation or per-cover fees, allowing operators to grow their booking volume without seeing their software costs increase with every guest.

Restaurants remain in control of their guest relationships. Apero does not operate as a consumer marketplace that promotes competing restaurants to a venue's customers.

"Restaurants are incredibly complex businesses, but the technology they use doesn't need to be," said Carl Lambert, CEO of Apero. "We built Apero around what Québec operators actually need every day: an easy reservation system, direct relationships with their guests, predictable pricing and tools that help them grow and stay connected with their guests. Our goal is to give restaurants technology that feels like an extension of their team."

Bringing AI Directly Into Restaurant Operations

Apero reflects a broader investment by Now Book It in applying artificial intelligence to practical hospitality workflows.

Rather than operating as a separate chatbot or standalone automation tool, Apero's AI is connected directly to restaurant operations. When a guest calls to reserve a table, Apero works with the restaurant's availability and booking rules, creates the reservation directly in the system and sends the guest a confirmation.

The same approach applies to modifications, cancellations, special requests and common questions such as opening hours, parking, menu information or large-party policies.

This gives restaurants a way to automate repetitive guest interactions while keeping their staff focused on service inside the restaurant.

A Restaurant Technology Platform Built for Québec

Apero launches with a particular focus on independent restaurants and restaurant groups in Québec, where bilingual operations and local support are important parts of the product.

The platform is available in both French and English and is designed to support single restaurants as well as multi-location hospitality groups.

The launch builds on Now Book It's existing presence in Canada and its experience developing reservation technology for hospitality operators internationally. Now Book It was established in 2015 and today provides reservation and guest-management technology to thousands of hospitality venues.

Apero expands that restaurant technology ecosystem with a product developed specifically around the needs of Québec operators and the growing role of AI in front-of-house operations.

About Apero

Apero is an AI-powered growth and communication platform for restaurants, built on reservation and guest management. The platform combines online reservations, table and floor-plan management, waitlists, guest profiles, automated communications, group and event management and no-show prevention.

Apero is designed for Québec restaurants and restaurant groups, with bilingual French and English capabilities, flat monthly pricing and no per-reservation fees.

For more information, please visit: www.aperoreserve.com

About Now Book It

Now Book It is a hospitality technology company providing restaurant reservation, table management, guest engagement and AI-powered solutions. Established in 2015, Now Book It was built by hospitality professionals to give restaurants greater control over their reservations, customer relationships and guest data.

Now Book It operates across multiple international markets, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, and is part of the Valsoft portfolio.

For more information, please visit: www.nowbookit.com

About Valsoft

Valsoft acquires and develops vertical market software businesses that provide mission-critical solutions in their respective niches. Valsoft's strategy is to invest for the long term, enabling businesses to benefit from global expertise, shared best practices, and a decentralized structure that allows them to retain their entrepreneurial spirit while achieving sustainable growth.

For more information, please visit: www.valsoftcorp.com

Media Contact

Antoine Sauve
Investment Partner, Valsoft
[email protected]

SOURCE: Valsoft Corp

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

S.Morin--SMC