Australian mobile payments firm, Mr Yum, has secured £48 million via a Series A round that was led by Tiger Global.
This is reportedly the largest Series A for a female-led firm from Australia, and the third-largest Series A in Australian markets.
Other investors that took part in the investment round include Commerce VC, VU Venture Partners and Skip Capital (the private fund of Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar and Kim Jackson).
As noted by its management, Mr Yum aims to serve as a global, mobile ordering, payments and growth platform. Existing investors TEN13 and AirTree also made contributions by making their largest investments (to date) into the business.
Other investors in Mr Yum include Australian NBA athlete Patty Mills and Grammy Award-winning artists Rüfüs Du Sol.
The Series A has been completed after Mr Yum’s £6 million post-Seed round back in April 2021, bringing the total raised by the firm to £55 million (appr. 100 million AUD).
Mr Yum went live in the UK this year and has been introducing its services in various venues such as Little Creatures and The Breakfast Club. It has also been launched at festivals including Taste of London and Henley Regatta.
Founded in Melbourne, Australia, back in November 2018, in only three years, Mr Yum has become an established mobile ordering, payments and growth platform that’s supporting the hospitality and entertainment sectors.
As a first-mover, Mr Yum has now been adopted at all types of venues, which includes casinos, theatres, shopping centers, cinemas, cruise ships and airports along with restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes.
Mr Yum CEO and Co-founder Kim Teo noted that the proceeds will be channeled towards supporting the firm’s global growth strategy.
She added:
“We couldn’t be more excited about the new partners that have joined our crusade. This round of capital allows us to triple down on our global lead on product innovation as we grow our teams across the US, the UK and Australia. Restaurants are embracing technology more than ever and our focus is building best-in-class tools to help them grow.”
Tiger Global partner John Curtius stated that the firm was pleased to lead the Series A round to support Mr Yum to continue scaling its business operations across the globe.
He remarked:
“Tiger Global is heavily invested in restaurant technology around the world. We understand the category and players well and Mr Yum is the clear leader in product innovation for mobile ordering and payments.”
AirTree partner James Cameron noted that it’s quite rare to see consumers adopt a new type of behavior as fast as they have with Mr Yum’s line of products.
He stated:
“Their QR codes have now become ubiquitous in Australia, and it’s happened pretty much overnight. With this new funding they are able to double down on their international markets, where they are already growing faster than they were in Australia.”
The firm has grown from 12 to over 120 full-time workers during the last 18 months, with teams working out of offices in Los Angeles, London, Sydney, Brisbane and the Melbourne headquarters.
Mr Yum claims 13 million users and over 1500 venues on the platform internationally.