Y Combinator-backed food delivery startup Dahmakan raises $18m series B round

Direct-to-consumer food delivery startup Dahmakan has raised US$18 million in a series B funding round that included participation from new investors Rakuten Capital, White Star Capital, Japan Associated Finance Corp. Asia, and the GEC-KIP Technology and Innovation Fund.

Other investors in the round include Korean food delivery unicorn Woowa Brothers and the former CEO of Nestle Germany, with follow-on investment from existing backers Partech Partners and Y Combinator, according to a statement.

Photo credit: Dahmakan

Dahmakan, which means “have you eaten?” in Malay, was founded in 2015 by former Foodpanda execs Jonathan Weins, Jessica Li, and Christian Edelmann. It was part of Y Combinator in 2017 as the first Malaysian startup to be accepted into the accelerator program.

See: Dahmakan is Malaysia’s first startup to be accepted into Y Combinator

According to Weins, the company’s CEO, their mission is to build a chef-made delivery product that the mass market can use every day. “We knew from our experience launching Foodpanda in Hong Kong that removing high delivery and operating costs while bringing food closer to the consumer would be a core part of this mission,” he said.

Rather than trying to create a marketplace, the startup’s founders focused on taking control of the entire value chain from product development to last-mile delivery from its network of satellite kitchens.

“We combine a small operational footprint across multiple locations to ensure lightning-fast delivery with high levels of automation in back-of-house operations, made possible through our investments in software and industrial design,” said Edelmann, the startup’s chief technology officer.

Dahmakan plans to use the new funds to further develop the operating system that powers its end-to-end business.

According to a statement, the startup has soft launched over 40 new dishes monthly from more than 2,000 tested dishes. It uses customer feedback, market insights, and other data to create a menu that features different best-sellers and Dahmakan-exclusive creations every week.

In May 2019, the startup raised over US$5 million in a series A round prior to the launch of its distribution satellite kitchens in Malaysia. It was looking to use the funds for its growth in new and existing markets.