<p>SoftBank Group Corp is in talks to invest in Dubai "cloud kitchen" Kitopi's latest funding round through its second technology fund, sources familiar with the matter said.</p>.<p>The Japanese company's Vision Fund 2 has put forward a proposal to lead an investment of about $400 million in Kitopi, said the sources, who declined to be named as the matter is not public.</p>.<p>SoftBank declined to comment. Kitopi also declined to comment.</p>.<p>So-called cloud kitchens are facilities built to prepare food specifically for delivery and they have benefited from the shift to online services during the coronavirus crisis.</p>.<p>These “dark”, “cloud” or “ghost” kitchens have no physical presence as a restaurant, and offer delivery-only services from a centralised location through a mobile app.</p>.<p>Kitopi, which is headquartered in Dubai, operates more than 60 kitchens and has more than 1500 employees.</p>.<p>Allied Market Research in India has estimated that the global cloud kitchen industry could be worth about $71 billion by 2027 compared with $43 billion in 2019.</p>.<p>Kitobi hired Bank of America earlier this year to help with the fund raising round, a source has told Reuters, expected to generate $150 million to $200 million of financing to expand into Southeast Asia.</p>.<p>SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, which has targeted $108 billion in fundraising, was seeded with $38 billion from SoftBank's own funds.</p>.<p>Kitopi has raised $117.2 million since its inception from investors including Dubai-based venture capital firm BECO Capital and U.S.-based Lumia Capital.</p>
<p>SoftBank Group Corp is in talks to invest in Dubai "cloud kitchen" Kitopi's latest funding round through its second technology fund, sources familiar with the matter said.</p>.<p>The Japanese company's Vision Fund 2 has put forward a proposal to lead an investment of about $400 million in Kitopi, said the sources, who declined to be named as the matter is not public.</p>.<p>SoftBank declined to comment. Kitopi also declined to comment.</p>.<p>So-called cloud kitchens are facilities built to prepare food specifically for delivery and they have benefited from the shift to online services during the coronavirus crisis.</p>.<p>These “dark”, “cloud” or “ghost” kitchens have no physical presence as a restaurant, and offer delivery-only services from a centralised location through a mobile app.</p>.<p>Kitopi, which is headquartered in Dubai, operates more than 60 kitchens and has more than 1500 employees.</p>.<p>Allied Market Research in India has estimated that the global cloud kitchen industry could be worth about $71 billion by 2027 compared with $43 billion in 2019.</p>.<p>Kitobi hired Bank of America earlier this year to help with the fund raising round, a source has told Reuters, expected to generate $150 million to $200 million of financing to expand into Southeast Asia.</p>.<p>SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, which has targeted $108 billion in fundraising, was seeded with $38 billion from SoftBank's own funds.</p>.<p>Kitopi has raised $117.2 million since its inception from investors including Dubai-based venture capital firm BECO Capital and U.S.-based Lumia Capital.</p>