Deliveroo to invest in 'dark kitchens' roll-out

25-Sep-2017 - Last updated on 25-Sep-2017 at 14:11 GMT

Deliveroo has raised £284m ($385m) in new funding to help roll-out its ‘dark kitchens’ to more locations in the UK and overseas.

The online food ordering service, which was founded in London in 2013, is now valued at over £1.48bn and will invest in the ‘rapid’ expansion of its delivery-only Deliveroo Editions platform to new cities and countries, the company says.

The funding has been led by T. Rowe Price Associates and Fidelity Management & Research Company, who previously backed AirBnB, Facebook and Tesla.

Deliveroo officially launched its Editions platform in April with the aim of working with over 200 restaurant brands in 10 UK cities by the end of 2017.

Groups including MeatLiquor and JKS Restaurants have launched delivery-only sites with the company.

Deliveroo founder Will Shu says the investment will take the company to the 'next level' and allow it develop its technology with a focus on artificial intelligence systems and ‘real-time’ tracking of orders.

"I am extremely pleased that our new investors share this vision and have decided to make such a significant investment in our future," says Shu.

"With this funding we will invest further in our delivery-only kitchens Editions, in developing our technology and in taking Deliveroo to more towns and cities."

While Deliveroo's rival JustEat has trialled robot delivery services Shu told BigHospitality in April that the company was 'monitoring the space' but was 'not actively focused on' developing its own robotic rival.

Last week Deliveroo announced that its revenue had increased 611% to £128.6m in 2016 but quadrupled operating losses to £141m.

The company said in its strategic report at Companies House that it had been investing heavily in its technology team.