Telecommunications and internet group SoftBank led a $415m series C round for Kitopi, the United Arab Emirates-headquartered provider of a cloud kitchen software platform, yesterday, through its Vision Fund 2.
Diversified conglomerate Dogus Group also took part in the round, along with B. Riley Financial, Chimera Investment, DisruptAD, Next Play Capital and Nordstar. The cash was secured at a valuation above $1bn, Kitopi CEO Mohamad Ballout told Bloomberg.
Kitopi operates an end-to-end cloud kitchen platform which partners local restaurants, taking orders, sourcing ingredients, recreating recipes and handling delivery on their behalf.
The funding will support continued growth in the Middle East and entry into Southeast Asia in addition to enhancing the company’s technology and expanding its restaurant partnerships.
Knollwood and Lumia Capital co-led Kitopi’s $60m series B round in February 2020, investing with conglomerate Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures unit, Gulf Investment Corporation, Beco Capital, MSA Capital, Rise Capital, Reshape, Global Ventures and Wilshire Lane Partners.
The company had reportedly raised $2m in a 2018 seed round led by CE-Ventures and backed by Beco Capital, before securing $27.2m in series A funding from investors including MSA Capital and Global Ventures.
Faisal Rehman, managing partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, which manages Vision Fund 2, said: “Constraints placed on the hospitality sector by the global pandemic have rapidly catalysed the value proposition of cloud kitchens for customers and restaurant brands.
“We believe Kitopi’s proprietary technology is changing the unit economics of food delivery in providing more choice to more customers, in more places. Moreover we are delighted to welcome Kitopi as SoftBank’s first UAE-headquartered investment and are excited by the company’s growth prospects in the region and beyond.”
