$50 million investment a major boon for Delivery Hero Australia

The parent company of Delivery Hero Australia has raised $50 million in an investment round led by Kite Ventures, less than a year after the global food delivery service launched locally.

Delivery Hero Holding, which is part of Berlin-based company builder Team Europe, allows customers to order food online and select from a list of restaurants offering delivery in their area.

It was founded by Fabian Siegel and Niklas Östberg.

The Australian arm of Delivery Hero was launched in September last year by web entrepreneurs Fabian Stein and CJ Foo, who “saw an opportunity to simplify home delivery”.

In the past year, the Australian business has grown 200%. It has partnered with about 1,160 restaurants across NSW, Victoria and Queensland, with plans to expand across the country.

That goal could come to fruition a lot sooner than expected, after parent company Delivery Hero Holding announced it has closed a $50 million funding round led by Kite Ventures.

Kite Ventures is a Moscow-based technology venture fund with a number of successful internet investments. Kreos Capital, a London-based venture capital firm, also participated in the round.

Stein told StartupSmart Delivery Hero Australia will receive a portion of the funding, but won’t reveal how much.

“The new funding will help us reach our aim of being the number one online food ordering service in Australia,” Stein says.

“Specifically, the money will be spent expanding our coverage across Australia and investing further into marketing to drive growth in new customer acquisitions.”

“We are also building our mobile strategies, which will streamline the process of online food ordering from wherever our customers may be.”

“We we will continue to invest in and perfect our platform, including rolling out mobile apps and expanding our footprint into South Australia and WA.”

To date, Delivery Hero has raised around $100 million. The fresh funds will enable the company to fuel its appetite to become the global leader in online food ordering.

The company has been developing strong foundations outside of the dominating US market by pursuing aggressive and acquisitory strategies in smaller markets with typically less competition.

In addition to Australia, Delivery Hero operates in Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, Korea and China.

“We are currently one of the fastest-growing companies in the world,” Siegel said in a statement.

The company, which boasts more than 22,000 restaurants in its network, attributes its success to the convenience and popularity of online ordering as consumers become increasingly time-poor.

Last month, Foo told StartupSmart it’s “only natural” consumers will begin ordering their dinner online.

“Delivery Hero is able to offer customers an easier, faster and stress-free way to order home delivery,’ Foo said.

“Why go to the bother of searching through a drawer in your kitchen for a menu, finding a restaurant’s number in the phonebook and spelling the name of your street to someone?”

“Our aim is to make online food ordering that’s so easy it’s enjoyable.”