Vir Sanghvi-backed EazyDiner raises US$ 3 million fresh funding for expansion

MUMBAI: Well-known columnist Vir Sanghvi-backed EazyDiner today said it has raised US$ 3 million (or Rs 19.9 crore) from Saama Capital and existing investor DSG Consumer Partners to fund expansion.

The online restaurant reservation platform is launching operations in Mumbai this week, followed by Bengaluru and Pune later in the year.

"We had initially invested Rs 3 crore in the venture piloted in Delhi and NCR. Post launch, the growth of the company was ahead of time and we decided to fund its expansion. The money raised will be used for geographical expansion to 12 cities by end of 2016, and Dubai," DSG Managing Director Deepak Shahdapuri said here.

The Delhi-based company offers real-time table bookings at restaurants at five-star hotels and stand-alone brands, deals with every reservation, insider tips, critic reviews, as well as a dining loyalty programme for diners booking through its platform.

Co-founder and Senior Vice President of EazyDiner, Rohit Dasgupta said the company will also test the product in smaller cities of the country before overseas expansion.

"Dubai is more like India when it comes to lifestyle and food. However, when it comes to further overseas expansion we will need to test our product in smaller cities in India," he added.

EazyDiner has 19,000 restaurants listed on its platform, but works exclusively with 500 food and beverage brands between Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, for which it undertakes table bookings on real-time basis.

The company will close August with 10,000 diners or 2,500 reservations in Delhi-NCR alone, marking a growth of 25 times since its launch in January this year. Monthly revenues stand at Rs 50 lakh.

By year end the platform will have a combined inventory of 1,500 restaurants between Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.

Last July, EazyDiner raised a seed round of US$ 1 million from DSG and Gulpreet Kohli, ex-managing director of Chrys Capital.