Restaurant reservation app Chope has raised a S$18 million (about US$13.3 million) investment in a Square Peg Capital-led round, alongside with C31 Ventures and Moelis Australia.
This round is Chope’s largest till date, having also seen the participation of existing shareholders DSG Consumer Partners, Singapore Press Holdings, Susquehanna International Group, and NSI Ventures.
Overall, this funding round brings the company’s aggregate funding total to nearly US$25 million.
Chope said they will use the capital to build new features for the application, as well as invest into R&D to pursue AI integration, cashless payments, and social dining.
“We look forward to our next stage of growth with this new capital and strategic partnership,” Chope’s CEO Arrif Ziaudeen said.
“With these resources, we’re positioned to invest significantly in our unique selling point of user experience and customer service, while deepening our reach into our markets across Asia.”
The startup named after the Singaporean slang for reserve is both a reservation app and restaurant discovery platform.
Using Chope’s website and apps, diners can book a dinner date at nearly 2,000 hotels in 8 different cities including Bali, Bangkok, Beijing, Bandung, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Shanghai, and Singapore.
Similarly, diners can use it as a search directory by simply selecting their location, the type of food they want to eat with choices ranging from American to Vietnamese, as well as the time. The app will then derive a list of potential restaurants, their opening hours, and price range.
Since its inception six years ago, the company claims to be the most-widely used restaurant booking system, having more than 3,000 F&B clients that use its suite of technologies to manage bookings, queries, CRM, promotions and prepayments.
According to the startup, more than 60 percent of its customer base are outside from Singapore with Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Indonesia representing the fastest growing markets.
Chope is currently operating at profit and earns revenue through three channels – a booking fee for each diner successfully seated at a restaurant, a monthly software fee to use its proprietary table management system, and a commision on promotional vouchers sold to diners.
Commenting on the investment, Tushar Roy, a Partner at Square Peg Capital said, “We are impressed by Chope’s success in capturing a leading position in Asia’s most attractive, growing dining markets in the premium dining segment.”
“Chope offers a compelling service to both restaurants and diners, and we are excited to contribute our expertise and capital to substantially expand the business.”
Moving forward, Arrif also said the startup plans to double the size of the startup in the next 18 months, in addition to adding another 1,000 restaurants to its existing 2,000 restaurants. The startup looks to hit 6,000 restaurants in 2019.
