Dinii Secures $45 Million Series B to Revolutionize Restaurant Management in Japan
Dinii, a cloud-based restaurant management platform, has successfully raised $45 million (7.46 billion JPY) in a Series B funding round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Hillhouse Investment Management. This marks Bessemer’s first investment in a Japanese startup. Founded in 2018 by Mao Yamada (CEO) and Kazuki Otomo (CTO) during their university days, Dinii emerged from their experiences in the restaurant industry, identifying significant gaps in order and delivery systems.
Initially established as a B2B SaaS provider, Dinii offers a cost-effective, cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) system that enables restaurants to leverage existing devices for their operations. Yamada aims to expand the platform’s services to include employee management, reservations, and food deliveries, following its successful model inspired by U.S. competitor Toast.
Bessemer’s Bryan Wu highlights the potential for Dinii to mirror Toast’s success, citing a strong team and a large, underserved market in Japan. Dinii also offers Dinii Payments, a cashless solution that lays the groundwork for more comprehensive financial services, including invoice management and daily payment options for employees.
The Japanese restaurant market predominantly relies on traditional on-site POS systems, which can be costly and lack modern functionalities. Dinii’s cloud-based technology allows restaurants to enhance customer engagement and gather valuable data for business insights.
Currently serving around 3,000 restaurants in Japan, Dinii sees significant growth potential within a food service market projected to reach $475 billion by 2030. With the new funding, the company plans to expand into other Japanese cities and Southeast Asian markets, increasing its workforce from 130 employees and building out data solutions for restaurant partners.
Dinii has raised a total of 8 billion JPY (approximately $55 million) since its founding, with previous backing from ANRI and Coral Capital.