Zomato launches 'Zomato Wings' to connect investors with restaurants

Online food delivery platform Zomato on Tuesday announced the launch of 'Zomato Wings', a platform to connect investors with restaurants, to help them raise funds.

The initiative comes at a time when there are thousands of budding restaurants that may not have the expertise or focus to fundraise at the right time from the right investors, Zomato’s cofounder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said in a blog post.

“We are excited to announce the launch of Zomato Wings, a platform to connect investors with restaurants. Just like ambitious restaurant entrepreneurs look for investors, investors also hunt for brands and teams that have the potential to become the next big chain,” he added.

By curating a set of restaurants and cloud-kitchens that could become rocketships if fuelled with equity capital, Zomato hopes to build the go-to platform for venture capital firms, angel investors, family offices, etc. that are looking to make private investments in restaurants and cloud-kitchens, Goyal said.

“As we partner with more investors by connecting them with enterprising restaurants, more budding restaurants would use this platform for fundraising, and the platform’s flywheel would create a win-win for restaurants and investors, and by extension, for Zomato” he added.

Goyal however pointed out that Zomato’s role would be limited to being a facilitator of fundraising for restaurants. It will help restaurants position their story and metrics in the right manner and connect them with the right investors, Goyal said. “We hope to give wings to at least 100 restaurant brands in the next three years – join us in this exciting growth story!” he added. 

On Tuesday, Zomato’s shares rose 2.45 per cent to Rs 152.60 apiece on the BSE while the benchmark Sensex ended the day 0.34% lower at 57,064.87 points.

As part of its September quarter earnings, Zomato had also announced a slew of agreements to scale up its business. The company said it is in the process of selling Fitso to Curefit (Curefit Healthcare Pvt Ltd) for $50 million, with an additional investment of $50 million in net cash in Curefit plus, which will give it a cumulative shareholding of 6.4% worth $100 million in Curefit.

Further, Zomato has signed definitive documents for investing $75 million in Shiprocket for a 8% stake as part of a larger $185 million round.The company has also inked a pact with magicpin, $50 million in Samast Technologies Ltd for a 16% stake as part of a total round size of $60 million.

Including the $100 million investment in Grofers earlier in August 2021, Zomato has now committed $275 million across 4 companies over the past six months.