Cloud Retail Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which operates cloud kitchen platform Kitchens Centre, has raised an undisclosed sum as part of pre-Series A funding round.
Delhi-based Kitchens Centre raised this capital from US-based early-stage venture firm Village Global, it said in a statement.
San Francisco-based Village Global says it is backed by technology billionaires Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt and Mark Zuckerberg. According to its website, the firm invests across industries and operates an accelerator as well.
This infusion comes around seven months after Kitchens Centre raised $500,000 (around Rs 3.8 crore) in its seed exercise. That round was led by AngelList India, with AngelList India partner Utsav Somani and AngelList partner Jake Zeller also investing. Thumbtack co-founder Jonathon Swanson, Junglee Games founder Ankush Gera and Mosaic Wellness co-founder Revant Bhate also took part in that round.
Kitchens Centre was set up last year by Lakshay Jain. A graduate from the NYU Stern School of Business, Jain worked with a Delhi-based beverages company before starting Kitchens Centre, his LinkedIn profile shows.
The company says it provides infrastructure and technology solutions for online food and fast-moving consumer goods brands. It builds ready to move-in kitchens, and currently has a presence at over 35 locations.
It will use the capital it has raised to scale up its operations and expand to newer markets in the country.
“Kitchens Centre data-driven approach to property acquisition and sales management ensures maximisation of occupancy and unit economics,” Village Global co-founder Erik Torenberg said. “We see significant investment opportunities in this ecosystem.”
Jain said the company is also aiming to create an incubated ecosystem with solutions including technology, supply chain, logistics support, and platform aggregation.
Kitchens Centre says it operates a network of more than 200 kitchen units and works with more than 50 brands including Mamagoto, Biryani Blues and Nirula’s.
The pre-Series A investment by Village Global is indicative of larger investor interest in the cloud kitchen space, with the Covid-19 pandemic driving restaurant footfalls down and home delivery orders up.
In July, Mumbai-based Yumlane said it had raised $1 million in a funding round led by Singapore-based Jetty Ventures. Yumlane was set up as a packaged food startup in 2016, before pivoting to a cloud kitchen model last year.
In May, Hoi Foods raised $2 million in a pre-Series A round from a clutch of investment firms and angel backers. In April, Box8 raised nearly $3.9 million as part of its Series C funding round.
