Augmented Reality based in-restaurant ordering startup peAR has raised Rs 2.5 crore in a Pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The funds raised will be utilised in building 3D modelling technology for augmented reality, so as to advance the B2C app, said the company.
The startup plans to launch operations in four cities – Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Pune. The startup is also hiring across roles to strengthen the team. With the funds raised, peAR aims to reach 15,000 orders monthly by the end of this year.
Founded in 2019 by Dharmin Vora, Dhruvesh Mehta and Parth, the company helps users visualize the dish before ordering with the help of its 3D model based on AR technology.
“The F&B industry hasn't seen much of digital transformation beyond cosmetic changes. However, that has changed with the emergence of food tech companies who have brought lakhs of restaurants online and expanded their market and catchment area. While this is one side of leveraging technology, which is helping the industry to grow their business, at the core level, restaurants as standalone entities have to embrace digital transformation right from how they present their menus or serving their patrons. It goes to the overall experience when outside dining becomes a norm soon,” said Mitesh Shah, Co-Founder of IPV
In the last 2 quarters, the company claimed it has grown 50X and has scaled its operations from 50 to 250 restaurants. Also, it said that is on track to onboard 1000+ restaurants by the end of this year.
“We have seen 100% month-over-month growth in the past 6 months and we will continue to grow at a faster rate in the coming months as well. We are also planning to launch in few new cities as we want users across India to experience 3D and augmented reality-based ordering. We have been lucky to have IPV back us from the start to reach where we are today,” said Dharmin Vora, Co-Founder, peAR.
The delivery market for F&B in India is $10 billion, however, the dining-in market is around $50 billion, with the latter growing at a CAGR of 9%. The base of any AR company is 3D models and while the AR market is growing at a tremendous speed of 26.7% across the globe and will reach $828 billion market capitalization by 2025.
