The timing tells you everything. After years of aggressive expansion funded by venture capital heavyweights like SoftBank, Kitopi finally hit profitability—and immediately went looking for growth capital. Not equity. Debt.
That distinction matters. On Tuesday, the Dubai-based food and beverage technology company announced it had raised $50 million in a funding round led by EvolutionX, the growth-stage private credit platform jointly established by Temasek and DBS Bank. For EvolutionX, the investment marks its first venture into the Gulf Cooperation Council region. For Kitopi, it represents validation that the business model works.
The company now operates more than 200 locations across five markets—the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Some are traditional dine-in restaurants. Others exist purely as delivery hubs, the so-called cloud kitchens that proliferated during the pandemic and have since evolved into something more permanent. Behind them all sits SKOS, Kitopi’s proprietary technology suite that handles everything from inventory management to customer data analysis.
“Kitopi is a standout example of the kind of transformative, tech-driven scaled up business that EvolutionX has been set-up to empower, one that combines scale, innovation and execution to reshape a traditional sector,” said Rahul Shah, Partner at EvolutionX. “This investment marks our entry into the GCC, a region we see as a rising force in the global innovation landscape. We are proud to partner with Kitopi, a company that is reshaping F&B business models and reimagining customer engagement. As they scale their ecosystem and elevate food experiences across the region and beyond, we look forward to supporting their next chapter of growth and innovation.”
The funding arrives as Kitopi accelerates plans to expand its homegrown restaurant brands—Operation Falafel, Catch-22, Right Bite, Awani, Taqado and Eatopi among them—deeper into existing markets while simultaneously pursuing franchise opportunities beyond the Gulf. The company employs over 6,000 people across its operational footprint, supported by customer experience centres in Dubai and Amman and an engineering hub in Krakow.
What began as a delivery-focused startup has morphed into something broader: a next-generation F&B ecosystem that combines technology infrastructure with traditional hospitality. The loyalty app that CEO and Co-Founder Mohamad Ballout referenced will play a central role in the expansion strategy, creating direct relationships with customers that bypass third-party delivery platforms.
“As we continue to scale our loyalty app alongside our regional growth and international franchise expansion, this funding round positions us perfectly to capitalize on the growing demand for our brands,” Ballout said. “What began as a local presence has evolved into a regional platform, and we’re now taking that momentum global.”
That global ambition explains why Kitopi sought debt capital rather than another equity round. The company has already raised substantial venture funding from marquee names including SoftBank, Lunate, BECO Capital, CE Ventures and Knollwood Capital. But equity dilutes ownership. Growth-stage debt allows founders and existing shareholders to maintain their stakes while still accessing capital for expansion—provided the business generates sufficient cash flow to service the debt. Which Kitopi now does.
For EvolutionX, the Kitopi investment fits neatly into its broader strategy of backing technology-enabled companies in emerging innovation hubs across Asia and now the Gulf. Since launching in 2022, the platform has committed approximately $450 million across multiple category-leading businesses, primarily in India, Southeast Asia and China. The firm targets companies in that critical growth-to-pre-IPO phase, when traditional venture capital becomes less attractive but public markets remain out of reach.
The GCC represents new territory. Yet the region has emerged as a serious player in the global technology landscape, fuelled by government initiatives, sovereign wealth deployments and a growing ecosystem of homegrown startups. EvolutionX’s decision to make Kitopi its inaugural Gulf investment signals confidence that the region can produce the kind of scaled, profitable technology businesses the platform seeks.
That confidence rests on Kitopi’s fundamentals. The company has demonstrated an understanding of local consumer preferences across diverse Gulf markets, each with distinct culinary traditions and spending patterns. Its technology-enabled operating model allows for rapid scaling without the capital intensity of traditional restaurant chains. And its portfolio of owned brands gives it control over the customer experience in ways that pure infrastructure plays cannot match.
Still, challenges loom. The regional F&B market remains intensely competitive, with international chains, local operators and new technology entrants all vying for share. Consumer behaviour continues to shift between delivery and dine-in, creating operational complexity. And international franchise expansion carries execution risk, particularly in markets where Kitopi lacks operational experience.
The company’s existing investor base suggests confidence in management’s ability to navigate those challenges. SoftBank’s Vision Fund famously backed aggressive expansion strategies across its portfolio, while regional players like Lunate and BECO Capital bring deep knowledge of Gulf market dynamics. The addition of EvolutionX adds a different dimension: a partner with explicit expertise in helping growth-stage companies prepare for eventual public market entry.
Whether that IPO timeline has been discussed remains unclear. Neither EvolutionX nor Kitopi disclosed the specific terms of the debt facility, including interest rates, covenants or maturity dates. Private credit deals typically include warrants or other equity-like features that give lenders upside participation, though details vary.
What’s certain is that both parties view the Gulf’s F&B sector as ripe for continued technology-driven disruption. Traditional restaurant operators face rising real estate costs, labour challenges and competition from delivery platforms. Technology-enabled models like Kitopi’s promise better unit economics through centralised operations, data-driven menu optimization and direct customer relationships.
The broader digital infrastructure supporting this shift continues to mature. Payment systems, logistics networks and customer acquisition channels have all improved dramatically across Gulf markets in recent years, reducing friction for technology-enabled F&B operators. Government initiatives around food security and economic diversification create tailwinds for companies building local production and distribution capabilities.
For EvolutionX, headquartered in Singapore with a regional office in Mumbai, the Kitopi investment establishes a Gulf presence that could facilitate additional regional deals. The platform’s mandate spans technology, consumer, healthcare, financial services, electric mobility and digital infrastructure sectors—all areas where Gulf governments and private sector players are investing heavily.
The investment also reflects evolving capital markets dynamics in the region. While equity venture capital has flowed freely into Gulf startups in recent years, growth-stage debt remains relatively underdeveloped compared to more mature ecosystems. That gap creates opportunity for platforms like EvolutionX that combine institutional backing—Temasek and DBS Bank in this case—with regional deal flow and expertise.
Kitopi’s path from local delivery startup to regional platform to aspiring global franchisor mirrors similar trajectories in other emerging markets. Technology lowers barriers to scaling traditional businesses, but execution still determines winners. The company’s ability to reach profitability before pursuing this growth capital round distinguishes it from many technology-enabled F&B plays that prioritised growth over unit economics.
By year’s end, the impact of this capital injection will become clearer. New locations will open across existing markets. Franchise agreements will be signed, or they won’t. The loyalty app will either gain meaningful traction or remain a secondary channel. International expansion will progress beyond the Gulf, testing whether Kitopi’s model translates to new geographies with different consumer behaviours and competitive dynamics.
For now, the company has the capital and the profitability to pursue those ambitions without sacrificing equity. And EvolutionX has planted its flag in a region it clearly views as central to the next chapter of its own growth story.