South Korea-headquartered pizza brand GOPIZZA raised $25 million (Rs 200 crore) in a Series C funding round co-led by GS Ventures, CJ Investment, Mirae Asset Securities, NCORE Ventures, Woori Bank, Capstone Partners, Big Basin Capital, DS Asset Management, and Pureun Investment.
The brand will use the fresh capital for expansion plans in India, backed by new-age robotic and AI technologies.
Mahesh Reddy, CEO of GOPIZZA India, said, “The funding will allow us to massively scale our operations across the country and further cement our position in the Indian market to become the pan-India market leader in the segment. We aim to launch 100 stores by 2023. The funds will also be deployed to bring the brand’s famed technology to all outlets in India, providing speedy and superior quality pizzas.”
GOPIZZA—which makes one-person, oval-shaped, fire-baked pizza—has 160 outlets across South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, India, and Hong Kong.
In India, the brand has 15 outlets and will open its first store in Hyderabad next month. The brand aims to reach 25 outlets by the end of 2022, and over 100 stores by 2023.
The single-serving pizza brand will also introduce its patented in-house technology GOVEN — an automatic pizza oven, GOBOT — a cooperative robot, and its AI Smart Topping Table — to ensure standardised quality.
In the next few years, GOPIZZA will establish outlets in Pune, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, and some key Tier II cities, including Chandigarh, Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Kochi. Globally, the brand aims to foray into Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the US.
In 2019, GOPIZZA opened its first Indian outlet in Bengaluru, offering one-person pizzas of superior quality at competitive prices.
The brand had previously raised $20 million in funding from Woori Bank, Capstone Partners, Big Basin Capital, DS Asset Management, and DSC Investment.
