Kitopi

Kitopi is a Dubai-based cloud kitchen platform with over 3,000 employees across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. The company provides kitchen infrastructure support such as equipped kitchens and software for logistics support for restaurants looking to open delivery-only locations. The company also offers Shop Kitopi, a grocery store that delivers anywhere in Dubai.

As of March 2022, Kitopi operated more than 200 cloud kitchens in the Middle East with over 200 restaurant brands—including names such as Operation Falafel, PizzaExpress, Right Bite, and UNDER500. The company charges its tenants a fixed onboarding fee and a 10% monthly royalty fee to operate in its facility. The company also leverages partnerships with other cloud kitchen platforms to expand its offerings. In July 2021, Kitopi partnered with C3 to bring major US brands including Umami Burger, Sam’s Crispy Chicken, and Krispy Rice to the Middle East. Together, the partners were to launch 150 locations across the Middle East and Asia.

In July 2021, Kitopi raised USD 415 million in a Series C funding round led by Softbank Group Corp’s Vision Fund 2. The investment was the first of its kind in a UAE-headquartered company and vaulted Kitopi to unicorn status. The funds were earmarked to accelerate Kitopi’s expansion in Saudi Arabia and further afield in Southeast Asia as well as to expand its tech stack.

For 2022-23, the company had plans to invest up to USD 1 billion in developing and expanding a network of leading local, regional, and international brands that have synergy with its operating platform. This would include expanding reach across countries and regions while diversifying customer offerings through supporting both licensed brands and its portfolio of invested brands.