TripAdvisor is putting its money behind EatWith as part of an investment round that will see "social dining" added to restaurant listings.
Greylock Partners is joining the undisclosed level of funding, its second time backing the San Francisco, US-based company.
TripAdvisor's injection of capital into EatWith is for a minority interest, an official says.
EatWith (TLabs here) had previously raised $8 million in a Series A round from Greylock.
The startup is challenging the traditional means of eating out - i.e. going to a restaurant - and replacing it with the idea of a custom-created meal at a host's house.
Amateur and professional chefs apply to EatWith to serve meals, and then each chef creates a menu, places it online for sale and eventually welcomes those customers into their property for a home-cooked meal and "experience".
Think of it like a friend's dinner party - except paid for and facilitated by a third-party digital platform.
The company is one of a number of social dining-type platforms that have emerged in recent years, including VizEat (which raised nearly €4 million in September this year) and BiteMojo.
EatWith claims to have around 650 hosts in 200 cities and 50 countries around the world.
So far some 11,000 dinners have been hosted.
But EatWith hosts could be on the receiving end of a deluge of new hungry guests if TripAdvisor's strategy captures the interest of existing visitors to the review giant's website.
As part of the investment, EatWith's hosts will be listed in TripAdvisor's restaurant pages under a new filter "Dine With A Local Chef", with a link to booking on the EatWith site.
Guests will be able to post reviews of their experience with the host, as well as pictures.
Bertrand Jelensperger, global head of TripAdvisor restaurants and CEO of LaFourchette, the France-based booking platform that came under the control of TripAdvisor in May 2014, says:
"EatWith is a truly innovative service that helps travelers dine like a local, and we’re excited to help support their efforts through an investment that will also help us expand our leadership position in the restaurant category."
Greylock has previously invested in Airbnb, Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tumblr.