The initiative comes as there has been limited investor capital inflow into restaurants and cloud kitchens over the years, said Zomato co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said.
“While some of the larger chains have attracted investors, we have barely scratched the surface – in the last three years, only 25 restaurants and cloud kitchens have seen Series A or large equity funding rounds,” Goyal wrote. Wrote a blog post last week. “By curating a set of restaurants and cloud kitchens that can become rocketships with equity capital, we hope to create the go-to platform for venture capital firms, angel investors, family offices, etc. in restaurants and cloud kitchens,” he said.
A Zomato spokesperson told ET that the four-member ‘Wings’ team, which is part of its overall supply team, will oversee these deals. The spokesperson said some such deals are currently in the pipeline.
The company did not disclose the details of the investors whom it will tap.
The spokesperson said, Zomato will help restaurants of a certain scale and size. The Wings team will help select restaurants and cloud kitchens to “position their story and metrics right and connect them with the right investors.”
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Goyal wrote, “As we partner with more investors by connecting them to enterprising restaurants, more emerging restaurants will use this platform for fundraising, and the platform’s Flywheel will create a win-win for restaurants and investors, And by extension, for Zomato,” wrote Goyal in a blogpost.
Zomato will not invest in restaurants or cloud kitchens to avoid conflicts of interest with other brands.
company
bet on startups like logistics firm shiprocketSearch platform for offline retailers magicpin and fitness platforms curefit, as part of its strategy to inject $1 billion into emerging enterprises over the next 1-2 years.
According to data from Tracxn, total funding for cloud kitchen startups this year has more than doubled to $234.2 million as of October, compared to $112.4 million in 2020. But 75% of the funds raised this year went to Rebel Foods, when the operators of Faasos and Behrouz Biryani
Raised $175 million in recent funding round,
zomato
Currently in talks to invest up to $500 million online grocery firm GrofersET reported earlier this month, which is rapidly expanding its ultra-fast commerce vertical.
Shares of Zomato rose 2.45% to Rs 152.60 on the BSE on Tuesday, while the benchmark Sensex closed 0.34% lower at 57,064.87 points.