Eat App wants a bite of India’s restaurant reservation business with an acquisition and Swiggy partnership

Dubai-based Eat App, a startup focused on restaurant reservations, is setting its sights on India as a key growth market. The company has successfully raised $10 million in a Series B extension round, significantly boosting its total funding to over $23 million. This latest funding round was led by PSG Equity through its portfolio company, Zenchef SAS, and exceeds the startup's initial Series B round of $6 million in 2022. With operations spanning more than a decade and over 92 countries, Eat App serves around 5,000 restaurants and boasts an annual recurring revenue of $12 million. The last year has seen India become increasingly important for Eat App, as it has expanded its network to include over 2,000 restaurants. Industry reports predict that India's food service market will surpass $85 billion by 2028, with dine-in dining comprising a significant portion. To enhance its offerings, Eat App has acquired competitor ReserveGo, founded by Vijayan Parthasarathy in 2022, and partnered with food delivery giant Swiggy. This collaboration aims to provide a comprehensive solution for restaurants, streamlining reservation data and enhancing customer engagement. Parthasarathy has a notable history in the reservation space, having previously developed the inResto platform that was acquired by Times Internet. The merger with ReserveGo, which managed over 1,000 restaurants and averaged 5 million reservations monthly without downtime, is expected to bolster Eat App's presence in India. Additionally, the partnership with Swiggy aims to market Eat App’s restaurant solutions under the name GroMax, offering features such as promotional opportunities on platforms like Meta and Swiggy, along with integrated reservation management. Arpit Mathur, Vice President of Strategy at Swiggy, expressed confidence in the collaboration, emphasizing the potential for Eat App's advanced technology and AI tools to enhance restaurant management and customer experience across India. Meanwhile, Eat App's CEO, Nezar Kadhem, highlighted the parallels between India’s restaurant scene and the company's earlier experiences in the UAE, particularly in Dubai. Despite the promising outlook, Eat App faces challenges from established international competitors such as Seven Rooms and OpenTable, as well as local rivals like PetPooja. Some restaurants continue to rely on walk-ins or lack aggregation tools, which could hinder the adoption of Eat App’s solutions. As the company moves forward, it will need to demonstrate that its growth suite provides substantial value to restaurant owners in a competitive landscape.