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Deliveroo, a London-based delivery service for premium restaurants that recently set up shop in Singapore, today announced a US$100 million series D investment led by DST Global and Greenoaks Capital. Existing investors Accel, Hummingbird Ventures, and Index Ventures participated in the round.

Last week’s Singapore launch comes after growth in Deliveroo’s home market and a US$70 million investment for international expansion last July. Since the start of 2015, Deliveroo claims to have grown its daily orders by 100 percent and expanded its service to 50 cities across 12 countries, including recent launches in Hong Kong, Dubai, Melbourne, and Sydney. The new investment will be used for further expansion and to strengthen Deliveroo’s foothold in the on-demand, high-quality food delivery sector.

According to the firm, more than 5,000 restaurants deliver via the platform worldwide. In Singapore, Deliveroo delivers to five areas – Bukit Timah, Kallang, Katong, the Central Business District, and Tanglin. It claims it will expand to 11 more areas before year’s end. More than 140 restaurants in Singapore have signed up.

Image by Ali Inay

Fine dining on-demand

“Singapore’s dense urban population and vibrant food culture make it a perfect fit for Deliveroo. By focusing on premium restaurants, Deliveroo is expanding the range of delivery options available to Singaporeans,” says Tristan Torres, general manager of Deliveroo Singapore, adding that the startup’s average delivery time is 30 minutes. Deliveroo has opened an office in Singapore with a team of 14 staff and 70 motorcycle drivers.

Deliveroo launched in 2013 in London. From the beginning, the firm aimed to differentiate itself from food delivery businesses that were geared toward takeaway restaurants. Deliveroo believes its unique selling point is the fact that it partners with premium restaurants that otherwise don’t typically provide delivery services.

Will Shu, co-founder and CEO of Deliveroo says, “Consumers want high-quality food delivered quickly and restaurants seek a new significant source of revenue.”

As Deliveroo focuses on high-end cuisine, it doesn’t see a great many direct competitors in Singapore, but it does feel a ton of indirect heat. The startup will go head-to-head with players like Rocket Internet’s FoodPanda. Deliveroo will also see amplified competition in the form of RedMart, the nation’s dominant grocery delivery player, which is also making a play for meal delivery via its recent mealkit initiative Homemade. The firm would also do well to keep an eye on startups like healthy food delivery service Grain, RedMart’s fellow grocery contender Honestbee, and local mealkit service Chef Box.

Deliveroo says it takes a hyperlocal approach in cities like Singapore. Restaurants that partner with Deliveroo can use their excess kitchen capacity to boost revenue by 30 percent without needing to invest in their own fleet of drivers, the startup says.

So what does the famous Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, who’s also invested in the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Xiaomi, and Alibaba have to say about the round and DST Global’s activities in Southeast Asia? He keeps it generic. “We hope this new round will support their continued growth,” says Milner.

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