McDonald’s buys Israeli tech company for $300 million

Using new technology, McDonald’s restaurants can vary their electronic menus depending on factors such as the weather.

By World Israel News Staff

McDonald’s has purchased Israeli company Dynamic Yield, which develops personalization and decision logic technology. The reported price is an estimated $300 million, more than NIS 1 billion. The two companies did not publish the exact amount of the transaction,

“Today we are thrilled to announce McDonald’s Corporation, the leading global foodservice retailer, has signed an agreement to acquire Dynamic Yield Ltd.,” said Dynamic Yield CEO Liad Agmon.

“This is great news for Dynamic Yield and McDonald’s customers, as well as personalization practitioners everywhere,” said Agmon.

“Dynamic Yield will play a critical role in McDonald’s digital transformation, allowing it to become even more focused on the customer by deploying our technology in outdoor digital Drive-Thru menu displays, as well as other digital customer experience touchpoints, such as self-order kiosks and the McDonald’s Global Mobile App,” he added.

McDonald’s Corp., in its largest acquisition in 20 years, is buying a decision-logic technology company to better personalize menus in its digital push, reported Bloomberg.

“When Omri Mendellevich, our CTO, and I started Dynamic Yield seven years ago,” said Agmon, “the premise of what we were building was based on customer-centric organizations making individualized experiences and personalization a strategic priority. Our acquisition by McDonald’s, one of the most iconic and beloved brands of our time, is truly an endorsement of that vision.”

The world’s biggest restaurant chain is spending more than $300 million on Dynamic Yield Ltd., reported Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter.

With the new technology, McDonald’s restaurants can vary their electronic menu boards’ display of items, depending on factors such as the weather – more coffee on cold days and McFlurries on hot days, for example – and the time of day or regional preferences, according to the report. The menus will also suggest add-on items to customers, it said.

Since taking the helm in 2015, McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook has pushed technology – including self-order kiosks, digital menus boards and delivery – to boost sales and help McDonald’s stand out among rivals, said Bloomberg.