Mcdonald's, one of the world's most popular fast food chains, recently announced what would be its biggest deal in over two decades of operations: it's acquiring a tech company, and AI one to be exact, in line with the company's many moves to push its locations into the digital age.
Back on Monday, the fast-food giant revealed that it had decided to purchase Dynamic Yield, an AI company that specializes in personalization and decision logic technology, among many others. The company is hoping that Dynamic Yield's technology will allow its digital drive-thru menus to change and adjust itself accordingly based on numerous factors, such as the current traffic of the restaurant, or even the weather.
According to people familiar with the matter, the apparent deal is valued at around $300 million, easily making it the biggest deal the company has made in over 20 years.
Brick and mortar
This decision by the company is in line with its recent efforts to input more technology in its brick and mortar or physical store locations. As a matter of fact, for this year alone, the company plans to spend around $1 billion to upgrade more than 2,000 locations in the US, keeping them up-to-date along with the times.
Per the company, these new renovations by the company (such as self-serve kiosks and digital menu boards) are meant to boost the sales by increasing customer convenience, which can, therefore, translate to faster service. Some locations outside of the US have also started seeing the renovations, such as those in Asia. However, a number of franchisees have complained about this, stating that implementation of the expensive project is affecting short term sales while also not giving any proper payoff. There are some positive results though, such as in the company's mobile app, which has helped Mcdonald's gain more customer information and data, which it can then use to fine-tune its menu and overall business strategy.
According to company CEO Steve Easterbrook, "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 a more personalized experience for our customers."
After the deal, Dynamic Yield will stay as its own business identity and will continue to work with other companies.
