UAE-based cloud kitchen platform, Kitopi, has raised $60 million in a Series B funding round, the company announced. The round was led by Knollwood and Lumia Capital, and joined by Beco Capital, GIC, Global Ventures, CE-Ventures, Rise Capital, Reshape and Wilshire Lane Partners.
The company was founded by Mohamad Ballout, Saman Darkan, Bader Ataya and Andres Arenas in 2018 and is the world’s first managed cloud kitchen platform. Kitopi partners with restaurants to expand their delivery reach by offering its platform of kitchens, trained chefs and an in-house suite of applications (collectively known as a smart kitchen operating system – “SKOS”) which optimize all aspects of kitchen operations in real-time to maximize efficiency and increase utilization.
“This is an exciting space and we are humbled to work with world-class investors who share a unified vision on how we can team up with restaurants to revolutionize the food industry. This investment is a big win for our restaurant partners, as well as the hundreds of thousands of customers who can continue to access their favorite dishes.”
Mohamad Ballout, Co-founder and CEO, Kitopi
Kitopi currently operates in 5 different countries; USA, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with over 30 kitchens and over 100 restaurant partners. The company plans to continue expanding into both new and existing markets, aiming to have 100 more kitchens by the end of 2020.
“Kitopi’s mission is to power the food economy by revolutionizing the way people can access food. Restaurant owners are able to focus on running their restaurants while Kitopi takes care of all aspects of operations, ensuring that meals are delivered fresh and quickly to customers who order via third party food delivery apps,” the company said in a statement.
The cloud kitchen startup has partnered with over 100 restaurants including names such as Pizza Express, Rite Bite, and Under 500.
“Kitopi has demonstrated its ability to differentiate itself from others in an increasingly crowded space, by collaborating closely with restaurants to achieve one common objective. It has shown success in building an innovative product that is capable of constantly adapting itself to suit customer needs while also being scalable.”
Chris Rogers, Partner, Lumia Capital
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