Fresh $60 million pie feeds Zomato’s hunger for global expansion

One month after Indian restaurant finder Zomato took its first step into the North American market, today it announced a fresh round of US$60 million in funding to further fuel its global ambitions. The investment round led jointly by India-based Info Edge and Vy Capital takes Zomato’s total funding to over US$113 million. Its existing investor Sequoia Capital pitched in too.

One of the fastest growing startups from India, Zomato has been on an aggressive acquisition spree lately. It bought four startups – New Zealand’s MenuMania, Czech Republic’s Lunchtime.cz, Slovakia’s Obedovat.sk, and Poland’s Gastronauci – in the last three months.

Founded by IIT Delhi grads Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008, Zomato lists information, including menus, directions, and user reviews, of over 300,000 restaurants in 18 countries. It claims to have a footfall of over 30 million across its web and mobile platforms every month. It recently launched a ‘Zomato for Business’ mobile app to help restaurants attract and engage with their customers.

A company statement announcing the latest funding round said Zomato will be expanding to 14 more countries across Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Americas over the coming year. “From just restaurant discovery and menus, Zomato has now become a vast global community driven by social interactions. This is an exciting point in our journey, as we accelerate our way across the globe, and build a product that will continue to redefine the way people dine,” Deepinder Goyal said.

Like most internet companies, Zomato’s US$660 million valuation comes from its appetite for growth. It might have turned profitable faster had it remained at home, but the founders Goyal and Chaddah always had global ambitions and want to take on the best in the world. It benchmarks itself against the US-based Yelp, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and valued at over US$4 billion. Zomato’s foray into Canada, which it considers a stepping stone towards America, will take the battle of the stomach right into its rival’s kitchen yard.

Info Edge and Sequoia Capital had earlier invested US$53 million in Zomato over multiple rounds of funding. The new investor Vy Capital was drawn by the strength of Zomato’s founders as well as their hunger. “Zomato is one of the first Internet companies out of India with a consumer product that is scaling on a global basis and a team that is executing extremely well against the opportunity. We look forward to being long-term partners of the company as it establishes itself among the global Internet leaders,” said Alexander Tamas, founding partner of Vy Capital.

See: Eyeing the American pie, Zomato enters Canada with a $10 million kitty