Nokia Growth Partners, the corporate venturing unit of mobile phone and telecommunications group Nokia, has invested in China-based online food ordering company Meican.
Nokia Growth Partners invested alongside existing private equity investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in a $10m in a series B round of funding. Details of the earlier round have not been made publi, but Chinese angel investor Xu Xiaoping joined KCPB in the series A, acording to a press brief on Nokia Growth Partners’ website .
Founded in 2011, the company initially started offering online food ordering service from close to 9,500 restaurants and fast food companies. Today, that number has gone up to 35,000, highlighting the popularity of the online food ordering concept to both restaurants and end customers.
Meican currently services Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. It makes its money by taking a commission from restaurants on each order, making it free to use for customers. The company has several rivals in China, including Shangha-based Daojia, though the most fevrent competition comes from Dianping, a Yelp-influenced site that has added food ordering options in several cities this year.
There are media rumours that Tencent’s investment into Dianping could be rolled into food ordering through China’s WeChat.
Other examples of online food ordering companies that have attracted capital include Singapore-based Food Runner, a spin-out from e-commerce business DealGuru, which is backed by Berlin-based investment company Rebate Networks. Foodrunner wants to grow across Southeast Asia and is taking a buy-and-build approach. Prior to the new name, Food Runner was called Room Service Deliveries and was set up by DealGuru after it acquired Malaysia-based operator, Asian Room Service in 2012.
In February 2014 DealGuru acquired City Delivery, another food delivery service operating in the Philippines. The acquisition comes eight months after establishing the regionally focused Food Runner, which operates as consumer brand Room Service Delivery in Singapore and Malaysia. Food Runner is looking for growth capital, but has not reported on any recent funding.
Other Chinese companies in this segment include Jinshisong.com, which is backed by angel investor Zhenfund, an early stage investment firm that Sequoia Capital has funded.