Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has invested in Singapore-based restaurant tech start-up TabSquare through its corporate venturing platform, Amatil X.
TabSquare provides AI-powered smart in-restaurant solutions to improve the restaurant experience for diners and improve operational efficiency for restaurant owners, and CCA said it took a minority stake in the company for an undisclosed amount.
It is the second restaurant tech investment this year from Amatil X, which was launched in April. In August, it took a stake in Australian start-up Doshii, which integrates App and POS technology to help hospitality venues offer a better experience.
CCA group director Partners & growth Chris Sullivan said Amatil X was crated to enable CCA to “participate in the start-up ecosystem, to leverage start-ups to support the existing businesses and to explore future growth opportunities”.
“This includes investing in restaurant tech companies like TabSquare which has developed a solution to benefit restaurants and their customers by using technology to streamline and personalise the dining experience.”
CCA says Amatil X was introduced to TabSquare by an employee participating in its corporate accelerator program, Xcelerate.
“Our employee’s startup idea was very similar to TabSquare, so they decided to explore TabSquare rather than reinvent the wheel.”
“We were impressed by the solution that TabSquare was promoting which has led us to invest in them. They have a strong team, a clear business model and ambitious growth plans, which include expanding from their established Singapore base to the whole of the Asia Pacific region,” Sullivan said.
TabSquare Co-Founder Chirag Tejuja said TabSquare offered a full suite of solutions for any type of in-restaurant dining.
“Our technology can personalise the entire dining experience for each customer, treating them uniquely, at scale.
“We have 6000 active terminals in market, serving 12 million diners annually. We are collecting rich customer data at every interaction, allowing the restaurant to provide a unique and personalised dining experience.
“There is a huge market opportunity for TabSquare in this region,” Tejuja said. “The addressable market is more than S$1 billion in South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand alone.
“We already have an existing customer base in most target markets and will rapidly grow our footprint in the region with the current round of investment funding.”
TabSquare's other strategic backers include Kakaku.com and Resorts World Inc.
