Investors are betting massive on meals service expertise startups in South Korea because the adoption of self-service programs within the nation’s meals and beverage business is anticipated to speed up amid excessive hourly wages and a chronic labor scarcity.

t’order Inc., a Korean startup providing tablet-ordering system t’order and different food-service options, has just lately raised 13 billion gained ($9.6 million) from Korea Development Bank (KDB) and LB Investment Inc. throughout a Series B funding spherical, during which the corporate is looking for to boost 30 billion gained in whole.

It is anticipated to attract the remaining 17 billion gained shortly, in line with business sources.

The startup will use the proceeds to ramp up a provide of pill PCs, primarily used as a self-ordering system at eating places, to satisfy its surging demand. t’order expects new pill PC orders will exceed 10,000 models month-to-month on common.

Restaurant homeowners within the nation are actively implementing automated food-service applied sciences to fight a leap within the nation’s hourly charge and the continued labor shortages.

HIGH LABOR COST AND ONGOING LABOR SHORTAGES

Korea’s minimal wage greater than doubled to 9,860 gained per hour this 12 months from 2013. Worse but, restaurant homeowners can’t discover employees.

The nation’s hospitality business lacked 52,493 employees as of the second half of final 12 months, in line with information from Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Restaurant homeowners anticipate the business will proceed to grapple with labor shortages for the subsequent 4 to 5 years at the very least. According to a survey performed by Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., 54.9% of three,000 meals and beverage eating places who responded to the survey, anticipated it might be nonetheless troublesome to rent workers three years later.

“A restaurant has to pay a monthly commission of 10,000 or 20,000 won per table for using a tablet-ordering system but that is much cheaper than hiring human workers,” stated an official from the meals and beverage business. “It will also help restaurants save costs in hiring and staff management.”      

Investors additionally see nice development potential within the nation’s meals service expertise sector as most associated native startups are eyeing international growth.

Payhere Inc., which offers food service automation solutions, plans to go international with main Korean fried rooster restaurant chain operator Kyochon F&B Co. with its point-of-sale (POS) system.

Aniai Inc., a startup growing cooking robots, already clinched offers to produce its automated burger patty grilling system to 2 main US burger franchise operators below non-disclosure agreements.

ROSY OUTLOOK ATTRACTS MONEY TO FOOD SERVICE TECH

Pinning excessive hopes on their enterprise fashions, buyers invested in each startups.

Payhere succeeded in drawing 20 billion gained throughout a Series B funding spherical final 12 months, whereas Aniai raised $12 million in Pre-Series A funding in January.

The kitchen robot developing startup has already signed a deal to supply 500 burger cooking robots and is anticipated to obtain orders to produce greater than 1,000 models by the tip of this 12 months, in line with the corporate.

Of different meals service expertise growing startups on buyers’ radar, Changupin Inc., the operator of cell menu ordering system tablero, raised 2.3 billion gained in a Pre-Series A funding spherical in November final 12 months from a number of buyers together with CJ Investment Inc., SparkLabs and Magna Investment.

Bear Robotics Inc., a serving robot-developing startup based in Silicon Valley, attracted $60 million from Korea’s high-tech giant LG Electronics Inc. in March.

It has just lately set a goal to ship greater than 1,000 serving robots this 12 months.

Another serving robot-developing startup B-Robotics in November final 12 months secured a 3 billion gained funding from international cell app developer Cheetah Mobile.

B-Robotics is a subsidiary of Woowa Brothers Corp., the operator of Korea’s No. 1 meals supply platform, Baedal Minjok often known as Baemin.

Write to Joo-Wan Kim at kjwan@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this text.