Zenchef tosses up €50 million from PSG Equity to roll out mobile app for foodies

In a rapidly evolving restaurant market, French restaurant tech platform Zenchef has raised over €50 million from PSG Equity to develop technology solutions for the restaurant industry and accelerate growth across Europe and the U.S.

Founded in 2011 by Xavier and Thomas Zeitoun and Julien Balmont, Zenchef offers a set of technological solutions that aim to facilitate the customer experience and front-of-house operations. Through its SaaS solutions, restaurants can control all their front-of-house operations (reservation and venue management, website and digital menu management, marketing activities, click and collect, mobile payments) from a single platform while owning their data. This integrated platform helps restaurant owners to increase occupancy, improve customer experience and minimise marketing spending, leading to better profits.

According to the startup, it has managed nearly 50 million reservations for its partners, resulting in approximately 170 million restaurant diners, including more than 42 million in 2021. The hospitality tech is currently operational in more than 15 countries, including France, Belgium and Switzerland.

Xavier Zeitoun, co-founder and CEO of Zenchef said: “With the new funding, we are solidifying our ambition to become Europe's champion. The new round will enable us to identify the relevant synergies to better serve restaurant owners and their customers, and help us pursue our ambitious recruitment plan. With the upcoming launch of our first consumer mobile app, we are closer to fulfilling our mission to an industry that has been severely tested in recent years and to which we want to bring the best technological solutions."

Going forward, the company aims to accelerate its growth in Europe by developing new B2B and B2C products to further strengthen its position within the restaurant tech sector. The company acquired startup Billee last year and rolled out Zenchef Pay, a mobile payment solution for restaurant bills. It plans to expand this fall with the launch of Zenchef's first consumer mobile application. This free application will allow users to check in real time the availability of over 1,500 restaurants in Paris and to make reservations. It will include various features intended to make the user's experience more enjoyable, such as a geolocation service, themed restaurant rankings and reviews.

Charlotte Lawrence and Edward Hughes, managing directors of PSG added: "With Zenchef, we believe we have identified not only one of the top software solutions on the market but also a scalable business with a strong brand and an ambitious and talented team that is particularly well respected by restaurant owners. Together, we believe these factors strategically position Zenchef to capitalise on the strong opportunities of the digitisation of the restaurant industry."