UAE – Mubasher: Kitopi, a Dubai-based cloud kitchen platform, has secured $415 million in the Series C funding round, led by Softbank Vision Fund 2.
Chimera, DisruptAD, B. Riley, Dogus Group, Next Play Capital, and Nordstar have participated in the funding round, according to a press release on Thursday.
This round marks SoftBank Vision Fund 2’s first investment in a UAE-headquartered company.
Kitopi will use the new funding to continue its expansion within the Middle East and access to new markets, including Southeast Asia.
The cloud kitchen platform will seek to innovate and expand its tech stack and grow its strategic restaurant partnerships.
Founded in January 2018, Kitopi operates more than 60 cloud kitchens across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
The CEO and Cofounder of Kitopi, Mohamad Ballout, said: “Our focus now is to expand our presence within the Middle East and to Southeast Asia, while continuing to innovate and pioneer in the cloud kitchen space. We are excited to take what we do to other parts of the world.”
Meanwhile, the Managing Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, Faisal Rehman, remarked: “Constraints placed on the hospitality sector by the global pandemic have rapidly catalysed the value proposition of cloud kitchens for customers and restaurant brands.”
