Fast-food empire McDonald’s has acquired Dynamic Yield, an Israeli artificial intelligence startup specializing in personalization and decision logic technology.

The move is set to offer a more personalized McDonald’s drive-thru customer experience in which outdoor menus will display food options based on the time of day, weather, restaurant traffic and trending items. In addition, the technology will enable to suggest and display additional items to the customers’ orders based on their selections.

“With this acquisition, we’re expanding both our ability to increase the role technology and data will play in our future and the speed with which we’ll be able to implement our vision of creating more personalized experiences for our customers,” says McDonald’s Corporation President and CEO Steve Easterbrook.

McDonald’s tested Dynamic Yield’s technology at several United States restaurants in 2018, and is set to roll out the technology in US branches in 2019 before expanding it to the international market.

Dynamic Yield was founded by CEO Liad Agmon and CTO Omri Mendellevich in 2011. Based in Tel Aviv and New York, its AI-powered Personalization Anywhere platform delivers individualized experiences at customer touchpoints such as call centers and apps.

“We started Dynamic Yield seven years ago with the premise that customer-centric brands must make personalization a core activity.  We’re thrilled to be joining an iconic global brand such as McDonald’s and are excited to innovate in ways that have a real impact on people’s daily lives,” said Agmon.

While the financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed by the companies, McDonald’s is reported to have paid $300 million for the purchase. Dynamic Yield, which employs some 200 workers mostly in Tel Aviv, is set to remain a stand-alone company and continue to serve current and future clients.

(via Israel21c)

[Photo: McDonald’s Corporation / YouTube ]