CloudKitchens – new startup of former Uber CEO PIF invested 400 million USD

According to information from WSJ , Travis Kalanick – the co-founder and former CEO of Uber – has silently raised $ 400 million from the Saudi National Investment Fund (PIF) for his startup CloudKitchens. The deal took place in January with a company valuation of about $ 5 billion.

CloudKitchens is a new type of food delivery startup. The company acquires cheap or degraded real estate, often near the city center, then constructs common kitchen areas. “Virtual” restaurants (without physical restaurants) will rent out CloudKitchens’ kitchens, process foods and sell them through food delivery apps like Grubbub or DoorDash. Travis Kalanick’s startup also operates restaurants that only deliver their own food.

Travis Kalanick – founder and former CEO of Uber. Photo: Getty Images.

The PIF investment will help CloudKitchens expand operations in US cities as well as some international markets such as China, India and the UK. Before being funded by PIF, the only investment that CloudKitchens received was $ 200 million from Kalanick himself after he sold his stake in Uber.

In January, Kalanick continued to invest $ 100 million in this startup. Plus the money from PIF, CloudKitchens currently has a total investment of about 700 million USD.

A PIF spokesman declined to comment.

Travis Kalanick has been a food handler since Uber CEO. Uber Eats, the food delivery service of this ride-hailing company, is also a partner of CloudKitchens. Kalanick remains on Uber’s board.