Colombian startup has help from Maluma and needs to double in measurement in Brazil

Bogotá-based company develops delivery-only restaurant brands

THE startup Colombian company Foodology has raised $50 million from a list of new investors that includes reggaeton star Maluma and Abu Dhabi-based Chimera Investments.

The Bogotá-based company, which develops delivery-only restaurant brands, plans to use the funds to expand in Brazil and reach 100 kitchens by the end of the year, co-founders Juan Guillermo Azuero and Daniela Izquierdo said in an interview.

About $30 million of the total is borrowed from TriplePoint Capital, while the rest is equity, from previous investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Wollef and Kayyak Ventures, alongside new names.

Startup funding in Latin America has been slowing amid a tougher environment for the tech sector as global interest rates rise. Investments through July 27 totaled $6.1 billion, according to data firm PitchBook. This is after a record $16.3 billion in venture capital invested in Latin America in 2021.

Foodology has grown from just 20 kitchens a year ago to 85, Izquierdo said. The company has 1,200 employees, of which about 1,000 are in the kitchen, and currently operates in Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Brazil. The funds will help the company “double down in Brazil,” where it has only seven kitchens in operation, she said.

The company is also eyeing opportunities to buy brands or build alliances with existing restaurant companies to expand its reach. In Brazil, it recently bought the low-cost sushi brand Sush1, said Azuero, without disclosing the amount paid.

Foodology originally raised $15 million in a funding round in October 2021.

Source: Exam