peAR raises INR 2.5 Cr in Pre-Series-A1 led by Inflection Point Ventures The funds raised will be utilized in enhancing B2C app features, expanding the team, and scaling operations to 4 cities

Augmented-reality-based in-restaurant ordering app peAR, on Thursday, announced to have raised INR 2.5 crore in a Pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures.

The funds raised will be utilized in building 3D Modelling technology for augmented reality, so as to advance the B2C app. Along with this, the startup will launch in 4 cities – Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi/NCR and Pune. The startup is also hiring across roles to strengthen the team. With the funds raised, peAR aims to reach 15,000 orders monthly by the end of this year.

"The F&B industry hasn't seen much of digital transformation beyond cosmetic changes. However, that has changed with the emergence of food tech companies who have brought lakhs of restaurants online and expanded their market and catchment area. While this is one side of leveraging technology, which is helping the industry to grow their business, at the core level, restaurants as standalone entities have to embrace digital transformation right from how they present their menus or serving their patrons. It goes to the overall experience when outside dining becomes a norm soon. peAR's application of augmented reality is truly a pioneering concept that hasn't been attempted before. Investment in peAR is aligned to IPV's philosophy of backing unique businesses with great entrepreneurs," said Mitesh Shah, co-founder, IPV.

The startup helps restaurants go digital. Due to the pandemic, the restaurant industry has been severely impacted. peAR helps restaurants make smart menus, helping them to increase their profits by up to 20 per cent.

In the last 2 quarters, peAR has grown fiftyfold and has scaled its operations from 50 to 250 restaurants. Also, the startup is on track to onboard over1000 restaurants by the end of this year. Having partnered with over 400 restaurants in Mumbai, its user base grew ninefold during this time. The startup received 5000 monthly orders with an annualized GMV of $250,000 in March this year, and grew their repository of 3D models 5 times in the last 6 months.

peAR also donates one meal to an underprivileged individual per 100 orders processed via app under Hunger Fighter's initiative.

"We have seen 100 per cent month-over-month growth in the past 6 months and we will continue to grow at a faster rate in the coming months as well. We are also planning to launch in few new cities as we want users across India to experience 3D and augmented reality-based ordering. We have been lucky to have IPV back us from the start to reach where we are today. They have not only helped us with financial aspects but also helped us in building business and team because of the diverse and rich experience and knowledge their CXO members have in all the industries," added Dharmin Vora, co-founder, peAR.

Delivery market for F&B in India is $10 billion, however, the dining-in market is around $50 billion, with the latter growing at a CAGR of 9 per cent. The base of any AR company is 3D models and while the AR market is growing at a tremendous speed of 26.7 per cent across the globe and will reach $828 billion market capitalization by 2025, peAR has created process and technology to make a 3D model in under 40 minutes. This places peAR at the cusp of a very unique intersection and peAR is poised to capitalize on both the growing markets.