Zomato closes $60m round of funding for its appetite to take over the world

Zomato‘s restaurant discovery train is showing no signs of slowing down.

The startup, which hails from India, has just announced that it’s raised a fresh round of funding worth USD$60-million, which puts its valuation at USD$660-million high.

Even though the company’s recent round of funding — lead by India’s Info Edge, Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital — means more business in more countries, Zomato already operates in 18 countries including India, South Africa, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, UK, the Philippines, Qatar, Sri Lanka to only name a few. It’s certainly keen on world domination.

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Founded in 2008, the company already boasts over 900 employees across more than 100 cities, which is an impressive feat in itself.

Essentially, Zomato’s web and mobile app platform provides up-to-date information, menus and photos of the more than 300 000 restaurants it represents. It has also recently launched the Zomato for Business app, which helps restaurant owners engage with their customers.

Zomato has acquired four companies in the recent past, which include MenuMania in New Zealand, Lunchtime in the Czech Republic, Obedovat in Slovakia, and Gastronauci in Poland. Over the next year, Zomato plans to expand to 14 more locations scattered across Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Americas.

This massive appetite is made possible by the company’s 300% growth in revenue since last year.

Deepinder Goyal, the founder and CEO of Zomato, explains that the company has scooped up millions of new foodies from the eight countries it has expanded to in the past year. “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,” she says.

Alexander Tamas, founding partner of Vy Capital, says: “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.”