Hospitality ordering platforms Mr Yum and Me&u are exploring a potential merger as their rapid growth during the Covid-19 pandemic begins to plateau.
A spokesperson for Yam confirmed to Startup Daily that talks are ongoing.
“Yam confirmed that he is in preliminary discussions with me&u about a possible merger to accelerate the growth of the two companies,” they said.
“Discussions are at a very early stage and no decisions have been made yet. Yam does not intend to comment further at this time.”
Mr. Yam cut 40 positions at the company in March.
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Yum CEO and Co-Founder Kim Tae Oh
CEO and co-founder In announcing the job cuts, Kim Tae-oh said: They made a “strategic decision to become profitable with their current cash reserves and control their destinies.”
The QR code startup, founded in November 2018, nearly doubled its order revenue last year after acquiring Melbourne startup MyGuestlist and its subsidiary CRM platform Sprout 12 months ago. , which increased company-wide revenue by 2.7 times, but Mr. Yam also fell by 17%. In August of last year, the company cut about 40 employees, but at the time Teo said it “had increased headcount too quickly” and said the cuts were “to extend the runway at a time when the capital markets remain uncertain.” ‘ said it was.
Yam raised $89 million in Series A led by US VC giant Tiger Global in November 2021, raising a total of $100 million in six months.
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Me&u founder Stevan Premtiko (middle) with investors Robbie Cook (left) and Justin Hems (right).
Meanwhile, rival pub food ordering platform Me&u raised $30 million in a round led by Acorn Capital last December, giving the three-and-a-half-year-old startup enough runways to break even next fiscal year. is said to have given Details of the funding, which the company was reportedly hoping for up to $50 million, only came out last month.
Me&u has raised a total of $66 million.
Its backers include Merriville CEO Justin Hems, who has rolled out the app across Sydney’s hotel empire; chef Neil Perry; Urban Purveyor Group founder John Singolies; MYOB, Google executives William Easton, Mike Abbott, Tim Reed, and Jason Pellegrino.
Me&u is the industry’s 800-pound gorilla, with 70% market share among the nation’s top pub groups, compared to 20% for Mr. Yum and 10% for other pub groups.
Founder Stevan Premtiko previously founded restaurant booking platform Dimmi (now rebranded as The Fork), which was acquired by TripAdvisor in 2015 and launched Me&u in 2019.
Startup Daily has reached out to Me&u’s PR firm for comment on merger talks. they haven’t responded.