Ex-GMs of Uber and Deliveroo, foodpanda executive back food ordering app Gobble

SOCIAL food ordering app Gobble has raised US$1.3 million in a seed round co-led by venture firms Beenext and Flash Ventures, and joined by prominent figures from the food delivery industry, the startup announced on Friday (Feb 4).

The angel investors in the round are Warren Tseng, former regional general manager at Uber Asia-Pacific; Siddharth Shanker, former general manager at Deliveroo Singapore; and Abhishek Sahay, regional director of foodpanda.

Gobble will use the funds to launch its app, which allows group ordering and food-gifting, across universities. It also plans to expand its tech and product team, as well as improve its value proposition for restaurant partners.

The startup was founded last year by Ashwin Purushottam and Domenico Tan, who previously worked with Deliveroo, foodpanda and Uber founder Travis Kalanick's CloudKitchens.

"Through Gobble, we are building Asia-Pacific's first social food ordering platform built around food and friends. We not only benefit the end-users but also our restaurant partners through group orders," said Purushottam, who is the startup's chief executive.

Dirk van Quaquebeke, managing partner at Beenext, reckons that Gobble is addressing a unique market opportunity. Likewise, Lorenzo Franzi, founding partner of Flash Ventures, sees this as "a very human and local angle to food ordering and gifting".