Flatbread-making robot creator Zimplistic secures US$30m in series C funding

ZIMPLISTIC, the creator of flatbread-making robot Rotimatic, has signed a US$30 million series C funding round led by private equity fund Credence Partners and EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore's Economic Development Board.

The investment comes after Zimplistic announced US$20 million in revenue in its first year of sales, and its expansion into five new markets: the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and Canada. The Rotimatic was previously available only in Singapore and the United States.

Zimplistic said the new investment "will be directed towards converting the 25 per cent of the world's population that eats flatbreads into Rotimatic users".

"To date, we have more than 30,000 customers who have made more than 15 million flatbreads and are using Rotimatic on a daily basis," said Zimplistic chief executive officer and co-founder Rishi Irani.

The automated appliance turns flour, water and oil into flatbreads such as prata, chapati, puri, tortilla, and pizza.

Ms Swee Yeok Chu, EDBI CEO and president, said, "We will work closely with all stakeholders to nurture this innovative home-grown company in its development of kitchen automation robots with machine intelligence and IoT-capabilities."

Zimplistic was founded in 2008, won the 2009 Start-Up@Singapore business plan competition, received angel investment in 2010 and has since gained investors such as NSI Ventures and Robert Bosch Venture Capital.