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Zomato

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Zomato
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Online restaurant search and discovery service
Available inEnglish, Turkish, Portuguese, Indonesian, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Italian
FoundedJuly 2008 (2008-07)
HeadquartersGurgaon, Haryana, India
Area servedIndia, Australia, United States, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Malaysia
Founder(s)Deepinder Goyal, Pankaj Chaddah[1]
CEODeepinder Goyal
Key people
  • Surobhi Das (COO)
  • Gunjan Patidar (CTO)
IndustryConsumer Services
ServicesRestaurant Search & Discovery, Online Ordering, Table Reservations & Management, Whitelabel Apps, POS Systems
Employees2000+
URLwww.zomato.com
AdvertisingYes
RegistrationOptional
Users90 million visits monthly
Current statusOnline
Native client(s) onWindows Phone, iOS, watchOS, Android, Universal Windows Platform (Windows 10 Mobile , Windows 10)

Zomato is a restaurant search and discovery service founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Bhardwaj. It currently operates in 23 countries, including India, Australia and the United States.[3] It features restaurant information such as scanned menus and photos sourced by local street teams, as well as user reviews and ratings. The company also provides cashless payment, online ordering, white-label apps, table reservation, and point-of-sale systems.[4]

History

The service began as "Foodiebay", conceptualised in the cafeteria of Bain & Company. Customers would line up to look at the menus to order food during the lunch hour. Realising this took up a large amount of everyone's time on a daily basis, Deepinder and Pankaj decided to scan restaurant menus and upload it on an intranet website for Bain employees. The website saw a lot of traffic and was launched publicly in 2008. The website began by listing restaurants in Delhi NCR, and quickly expanded to Kolkata and then Mumbai.

In March 2010, Foodiebay was named among the top 25 most promising internet companies in India by SmartTechie Magazine.[5] Soon after, Info Edge (India), the parent company of the Naukri.com group, invested ₹4.7 crore (US$1 million) in the business.[6] In November 2010, Foodiebay was renamed as Zomato.[7] Zomato raised its second round of funding of US$3.5million (₹13.5 crores) from the same investor in September 2011.[8] The following year, Zomato raised its third round, of another $2.5 million[9] followed by its fourth round worth US$10 million from Info Edge in early 2013, giving them a 57.9% stake in Zomato.[10]

By 2011, Zomato started coverage in Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad and launched applications for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices.[11] Following the introduction of .xxx domains in 2011, Zomato also launched zomato.xxx, a site dedicated to food porn.[12] The company also launched a print version of the content on the website known as the "Citibank Zomato Restaurant Guide" in collaboration with Citibank in May 2012, but has since been discontinued.[13] By September 2012, Zomato expanded to its first overseas location, United Arab Emirates, following which it saw quick expansion into Sri Lanka,[14] Qatar,[15] the United Kingdom,[16] the Philippines, and South Africa.[17] The company launched in Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand in July 2013, and Hamilton in December 2013.[18] It made its way to Turkey, Brazil, and Indonesia in November 2013, with its website and apps available in Turkish, Brazilian Portuguese, Indonesian, and English.[19] In November 2013, Zomato raised US$37 million (₹227.6 crores) from Sequoia Capital and Info Edge (India).[20]

In April 2014, Zomato launched its services in Portugal. In July, Zomato made its first acquisition by buying New Zealand's Menu-mania for an undisclosed sum.[21] In August, the company acquired online restaurant guides Lunchtime.cz (from the Czech Republic) and Obedovat.sk (from Slovakia) for a combined $3.25 million.[22] In September, Zomato acquired Poland-based restaurant search service Gastronauci for an undisclosed sum.[23] In October, Zomato launched its services in Canada.[24] Shortly after, in November, it extended its reach to Lebanon and Ireland as well.[25][26] In December, Zomato acquired leading Italian restaurant search service Cibando. In November 2014, Zomato closed a fresh round of funding of US$60 million at a post-money valuation of ~US$660 million. This round of funding was being led jointly by Info Edge (India) Limited and Vy Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital.[27]

Zomato acquired Seattle-based food portal Urbanspoon for an undisclosed sum in January 2015.[28] The acquisition marked Zomato's entry into the United States, Canada and Australia, and brought it into direct competition with Yelp, Zagat and OpenTable. In the same month, Zomato also acquired Mekanist, one of Turkey's largest restaurant search players, in an all-cash deal.[29]

April 2015 saw another round of funding for Zomato, led by Info Edge, Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital, this time of US $50 million.[30] In September 2015, Zomato raised another US$60 million, led by Temasek, a Singapore government-owned investment company, along with Vy Capital.[31] This takes Zomato’s total funding to ~$225 million which comes from a close set of four investors – Info Edge, Sequoia India, Vy Capital, and now Temasek.[32]

In April 2015, Zomato acquired Delhi based startup MapleGraph that built MaplePOS, a cloud-based point-of-sale product for restaurants. Zomato renamed the MaplePOS product to ‘Zomato Base’.[33] In the same month, Zomato also acquired NexTable, a US-based table reservation and restaurant management platform.[34]

On 4 June 2015, an Indian security researcher hacked the Zomato website, gained access to information about 62.5 million users. Using the vulnerability he was able to access personal data of users such as phone number, email address, and Instagram private photos using their Instagram access token. Zomato fixed the issue within 48 hours of it becoming apparent.[35] On 15 October 2015 Zomato changed business strategies from a Full-Stack market to an enterprise market. This led to Zomato firing 10% of its workforce which equals about 300 people.[36]

As of 21 March 2016, Zomato ranks as the top 2 startup for India in the StartupRanking.[37]

Countries where Zomato is available.

See also

References

  1. ^ "In Depth Interview with Pankaj Chaddah, Founder of Zomato". The Startup Magazine. November 7, 2013.
  2. ^ "Zomato.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  3. ^ "Zomato acquires Urbanspoon, enters US market; restaurant coverage to touch a million". Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  4. ^ Verma, Shrutika. "Zomato expands menu in one-stop-shop quest". LiveMint. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  5. ^ "Top 25 most promising internet companies in India by SmartTechie Magazine".
  6. ^ "InfoEdge to Invest INR 4.7 Cr in Foodiebay".
  7. ^ "How Foodiebay became Zomato".
  8. ^ "Info Edge to invest Rs 13.5cr in Zomato.com". www.moneycontrol.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  9. ^ "Info Edge invests $2.3M more in Zomato, ups stake to 48.5% | Techcircle.in - India startups, internet, mobile, e-commerce, software, online businesses, technology, venture capital, angel, seed funding". techcircle.vccircle.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  10. ^ "Zomato raises 4th round of funding". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  11. ^ "Zomato launches first local-search android application".
  12. ^ "People looking for food porn come to Zomato.xxx, says founder Deepinder Goyal - The Economic Times". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  13. ^ "Zomato Launches Printed Food Guide; Monetization, International Expansion, WP7 App".
  14. ^ "After UAE, Zomato expands into Sri Lanka; adds a Colombo section | Techcircle.in - India startups, internet, mobile, e-commerce, software, online businesses, technology, venture capital, angel, seed funding". techcircle.vccircle.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  15. ^ "Zomato expands Middle Eastern presence with Doha launch | Mideaster - Middle East News". mideaster.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  16. ^ "After UAE & Sri Lanka, Zomato expands into Europe; adds a London section | Techcircle.in - India startups, internet, mobile, e-commerce, software, online businesses, technology, venture capital, angel, seed funding". techcircle.vccircle.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  17. ^ "Zomato launches in South Africa » NextBigWhat". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  18. ^ "Update: Zomato Breaks Even In India; Expands To New Zealand". MediaNama. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  19. ^ "Zomato tackles new languages for first time, takes restaurant listings to Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil".
  20. ^ "Sequoia leads $37M funding round in Zomato | VCCircle". www.vccircle.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  21. ^ "Zomato buys New Zealand's MenuMania for Rs 5 crore". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  22. ^ Pani, Priyanka. "Zomato acquires Lunchtime, Obedovat for $3.25 mn". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  23. ^ "Zomato acquires Poland's Gastronauci, fourth acquisition in three months - The Economic Times". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  24. ^ "Zomato launches in Canada". MediaNama. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  25. ^ "Zomato launches Lebanon section; expands into Middle East". www.exchange4media.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  26. ^ "Zomato launches in Ireland, opens revenue source by making advertisement live on its app - Firstpost". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  27. ^ "Zomato raises $60 million from Vy Capital, Info Edge & Sequoia". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  28. ^ Shu, Catherine. "Restaurant Discovery Site Zomato Buys IAC's Urbanspoon, Enters The U.S." TechCrunch. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  29. ^ "Zomato strikes 7th deal, buys Turkish firm". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  30. ^ "Zomato raises Rs 311 crore from existing investors". Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  31. ^ "Zomato raises $60 mn from Temasek and Vy Capital". Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  32. ^ "Zomato Raises $60 Million From Temasek and Vy Capital". NDTV Gadgets360.com. Retrieved 2016-01-16.
  33. ^ Ghoshal, Abhimanyu. "Zomato Buys MaplePOS to Offer Restaurant Reservations". Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  34. ^ Lunden, Ingrid. "Zomato Buys NexTable To Rival OpenTable And Yelp In Reservations". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  35. ^ https://www.techinasia.com/zomato-hacked-indian-online-startups-security-granted/
  36. ^ "Shifting focus to what matters and what works". Zomato: Official Blog. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  37. ^ "India Top Startups - Freshdesk, Zomato, Myntra | Startup Ranking". StartupRanking. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
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