Easy Eat rakes in funding from ex-Uber CPO

Singapore: Easy Eat, a Singaporean Artificial Intelligence-powered foodtech startup with operations in Malaysia, has closed a new round of funding with a clutch of investors such as Silicon Valley veteran and former Uber chief product officer Manik Gupta.

Co-founder and CEO Mohd Wassem stated that Easy Eat will utilize the fresh capital to ramp up its team and regional presence, as the startup is seeing “great adoption and engagement” for its products among F&B outlets in Malaysia.

The foodtech venture was established in early 2020 by friends Wassem, Rhythm Gupta, Abdul Khalid and Akshay Chauhan.

In a nutshell, Easy Eat digitizes all customer-facing interactions in restaurants — from browsing menu, ordering and tracking to payments. It also personalizes and rewards users’ dining experience. The firm’s AI solution even suggests customizing options based on users’ preferences and history; the more a user uses Easy Eat AI tech, the more personalized it gets.

“F&B is the least digitally-advanced industry globally. Sooner or later, the industry will have to empower its customers to take charge of their ordering, be it dine-in, take-away or delivery,” said Wassem.

“Our technology allows customers to place and customise their orders, request services and make payment via their smart phone. This establishes direct connection between the customer and the restaurant, enabling the latter to promote delivery, take-away or advance bookings,” he explained.

During the COVID-19-induced lockdown, Easy Eat’s restaurant partners generated nearly 60-70 per cent of their pre-lockdown revenue, thanks to its technology. Wassem also claimed that almost 95 per cent of its restaurant partners, which were on-boarded in 2020, are still using its solutions.