TripAdvisor Led Follow-on Funding Round In Eatigo Bringing The Total raise So Far To $25 Mn

Bangkok and India-based online restaurant reservation platform Eatigo has raised a follow-on funding as part of its pre-Series C round from existing investor TripAdvisor. This brings its total raise across all its investors to date to over $25 Mn.

The pre-series C funding for Eatigo comes as TripAdvisor’s restaurants business unit and its subsidiary, TheFork, look to help expand Eatigo’s presence and services across the Asia Pacific region.

Eatigo, after its successful entry into  Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia and India in 2017, will be using the raised funding to expand in several markets and to further extend its product offerings.

Michael Cluzel, co-founder and CEO, Eatigo, said, “Eatigo is excited to continue its strong relationship and collaboration with TripAdvisor. These new funds will be integral in allowing Eatigo to consolidate and extend the reach of our leadership and expertise in helping customers reserve the perfect table”.

“TripAdvisor’s continued partnership with Eatigo will help us both better serve millions of diners and restaurant owners who are increasingly turning to online channels,” Bertrand Jelensperger, Senior Vice President, TripAdvisor Restaurants and founder of TheFork added.

Last year, the platform had raised $15.5 Mn in its Series B round from PlanB, a Thailand-based media house; and travel discovery platform, TripAdvisor.

Eatigo And TripAdvisor: Spreading Its Wings into Asian Countries

In India, Eatigo is currently active in Pune and Mumbai. It made its official foray in the Indian online restaurant reservation market in July 2017. Eatigo signed an Asset Purchase Agreement in April 2017 to acquire the operations of Ressy, an Indian online restaurant reservation platform.

Overall, Eatigo is currently active in six countries and has over 4 Mn users. It offers the largest inventory of discounted restaurants in the region with over 4,000 restaurant partners, from upscale hotels and fine-dining establishments to popular restaurant chains and neighbourhood budget eateries.

On the other hand, TripAdvisor restaurants provide better support to the needs of diners and the 4.6Mn restaurants listed on the travel site.

The fork provides the ideal complement to the site’s millions of restaurants listings by positioning it as an immediate online reservations leader in the dining and hospitality industry. The Fork operates out of 11 countries globally and supports reservation services for more than 50,000 restaurants. In the Asia Pacific region, TheFork operates the Dimmi brand in Australia.

Similar to Eatigo is a premium dining programme- Dineout Plus which helps its members in booking tables at over 150 five-star restaurants across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. The programme further includes a 25% discount on the total bill.

One can also book a table with Google Search by clicking on a partner’s link who will then be redirected to their site to make a reservation. Google has tied up with DineOut and Bytplus for a restaurant reservation.

Other few players in online restaurant reservation segment in India are EazyDiner, Zomato, TableGrabber, among others.