Zagat to Get Web-Venture Investment

Zagat Survey, publisher of the Zagat restaurant guides, is set to announce today that it has received $31 million in funding from Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Massachusetts Institute of Technology media lab founder Nicholas Negroponte and others. New York-based Zagat will use the money to expand its Internet operations and Web site. Other investors include General Atlantic Partners, which led the round of funding; Allen & Co.; former Microsoft Corp. chief technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold; and technology investment banker Nancy Peretsman. New York-based Zagat said it is considering an initial stock offering in early 2001 after expanding its Internet-based services this year. It has used some of the funding to make an undisclosed investment in OpenTable.com, a closely held company whose Web site allows people to book restaurant reservations. Zagat is also planning to expand its rating service to other topics such as cars or fashion, founder Tim Zagat said. Zagat’s restaurant guides cover eateries in more than 40 cities in the U.S. and abroad. In 1988, the company began publishing guides for hotels. Industry analysts said Zagat Survey represented a unique Web opportunity, not only because of its strong brand name, but because local interests such as finding restaurants and hotels are often what prompt people to go online.