Foody
Where to eat, bars, cafes and restuarants.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | $64.0m Valuation: $64.0m | Acquisition | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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Originating as a Yelp-like platform for restaurant reviews in Vietnam, Foody has evolved into a comprehensive food-tech ecosystem. The company was founded in 2012 by Dang Hoang Minh, who drew upon his background in software engineering. His journey began while studying in Australia, where a family financial crisis necessitated him working as a vegetable picker to make ends meet, an experience that shaped his resilient approach to business. Upon returning to Vietnam, he identified a gap in the market for a reliable food discovery and review community.
Initially, Foody operated as a media platform, generating revenue from advertising while building a vast database of user-generated reviews and listings for restaurants, cafes, and other venues. The business model transitioned towards a transactional platform in 2015, following Series B and C funding rounds from investors including Garena (now Sea Ltd.), Tiger Global Management, and CyberAgent Capital. This strategic shift led to the launch of 'DeliveryNow,' a food delivery service, and 'Table Now,' a reservation system, transforming Foody from a simple directory into a multifaceted service provider.
In a significant milestone, Singaporean consumer internet group Sea Ltd. acquired a majority 82% stake in Foody in 2017 for approximately $64 million. This acquisition was a strategic move for Sea to expand its digital payment platform, AirPay, by integrating it with Foody's delivery services. Under Sea's ownership, the platform continued its expansion and rebranding efforts. In 2021, DeliveryNow was rebranded to ShopeeFood, and the affiliated e-wallet AirPay became ShopeePay, aligning the service more closely with Sea's e-commerce giant, Shopee. This integration created a powerful ecosystem, leveraging Shopee's large user base and logistics network to compete directly with other major players in Vietnam's bustling food delivery market.
Keywords: Foody.vn, ShopeeFood, Dang Hoang Minh, Vietnam, food delivery, restaurant review, online food ordering, Sea Ltd., Garena, Tiger Global Management, food-tech, e-commerce, restaurant booking, Now.vn, DeliveryNow, digital payments, AirPay, ShopeePay, startup ecosystem Vietnam, venture capital