Kitopi, the UAE headquartered cloud kitchen and next generation food & beverage technology platform, has secured $50 million in growth capital in a round led by EvolutionX, a private credit platform backed by Temasek and DBS Bank, marking EvolutionX’s first investment in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The funding follows Kitopi’s achievement of profitability and is earmarked to support the company’s expansion across high growth GCC markets and accelerate its regional and international franchising strategy.
Founded in 2018 by Mohamad Ballout, Saman Darkan, Bader Ataya, and Andy Arenas, Kitopi operates more than 200 locations across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, combining dine-in restaurants and delivery only kitchens into a unified food platform. Its proprietary SKOS (Smart Kitchen Operating System) supports standardized operations, inventory management, and data driven scaling across its portfolio of homegrown and partner brands, enabling consistent customer experiences from preparation to delivery.
The $50 million growth capital will be deployed to expand Kitopi’s footprint in key markets, roll out additional franchise concepts, and enhance customer engagement through technology and loyalty initiatives. The round also reflects a broader trend in MENA toward alternative financing structures such as private credit, which can provide growth capital with less equity dilution for profitable, late-stage companies.
