Kitopi, which is a Dubai-based cloud kitchen startup, announced in a statement that it has raised $415 million through Series C, led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2. This is one of the largest rounds of funding ever raised by a venture capital firm in the mid region East and North Africa. This is also Softbank’s first investment in a company in the Middle East. Kitopi did not disclose the estimate, but confirmed that his estimate is in excess of $ 1 billion, making him the third unicorn in the Middle East and the fastest unicorn to date. Other top growth investors have also joined the deal, including Chimera, Disrupt AD, B. Riley, Dogus Group, Next Play Capital and Nordstar.
Mohammad Ballout, Founder and CEO of Kitopi, said in a statement that the past three and a half years have taught them a culture of courage, focus and high efficiency to achieve their vision. They are proud to have the opportunity to work with huge brands like Chimera, DisruptAD and others. Not only that, but also a commitment to industry and the region. Their current work continues to expand the business in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, to innovate and pioneer in the field of cloud cuisine. They are looking forward to sharing their work with the rest of the world.
Background
Founded in 2018 by Mohamad Ballaut, Saman Darkan, Bader Ataya and Andy Arenas, Kitopi operates a network of more than 60 cloud kitchens in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. It also spread to the United States in 2019, but left the market after the pandemic began.
This three-year start-up company will work with catering brands to help expand its reach through cloud kitchens. This startup is responsible for all operations from food preparation to delivery, and also cooperates with restaurants on a revenue-sharing basis. According to the website, it works with Shake Shack, Papa John’s, Jollibee, Nathan’s Famous, iHOP and more than 200 other brands.
According to the company, its competitive advantage is in its own proprietary smart kitchen operating system, a set of applications that optimizes the efficiency of this cloud kitchen in real time. This allows Kitopi to manage multiple brands in one kitchen and increase its efficiency. “For example, the application uses information science to predict when the driver will arrive and how long it will take to cook something on the menu, and then automatically adjusts which items to cook to increase speed,” the statement said.
Since its launch three years ago, Kitopi’s kitchen has doubled order volumes and reduced preparation time by 40%. Over the past 12 months, the startup has expanded to subscription-based food plans and food delivery. Its total business has grown by 300% by 2020.
Dani Farha, a spokesman for Beco Capital, said: “Muhammad has built a top-notch leadership team from the start and continues to nurture all of the organization’s talents. He is also one of the world’s first innovators in the global cloud kitchen. We are proud to be able to work with them. “