Blog

Burnaby, British Columbia-based Fantuan has acquired the delivery business of Chicago-based Chowbus.

Like Fantuan, Chowbus offers an Asian food ordering and delivery platform. Following the deal, Chowbus plans to focus on developing and optimizing its restaurant business. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal is aimed to strengthen Fantuan’s presence in the US market.

Fantuan co-founder and CEO Randy Wu said the deal will broaden Fantuan’s portfolio of restaurants and users, as well as strengthen the startup’s foothold in the United States, where, according to the company, there are over 120,000 Asian restaurants.

“Together, Fantuan and Chowbus will actively promote Asian food culture, offering users more delicious selections,” Wu said in a statement. “At the same time, we will collaborate with even more mom-and-pop restaurants and Asian-owned businesses and provide a more comprehensive back of house solution for merchants.”

The acquisition comes on the heels of Fantuan’s $54.3-million CAD ($40-million USD) Series C funding round, which was co-led by GrubMarket and Celtic House Asia Partners. 

Co-founded by CEO Randy Wu and Feng Yaofei in 2014, Fantuan’s platform functions as an Uber Eats for the Asian foods and deliveries segment. The startup aims to become the “overseas version of Meituan,” the consumer goods retail giant based in Beijing.

Through the platform, users can choose from an array of local Asian restaurants for food delivery, with some being exclusive offerings on the Fantuan app, according to the company. The app also provides courier services for both package and grocery deliveries.

RELATED: With $2 million raised to date, Omnicart aims to serve hyperlocal last-mile delivery

Fantuan began operating in Toronto in 2016 and later expanded into the United States in 2019. In 2020, it launched an English version of its app. The company went international last year, and currently operates in 10 cities across the United Kingdom and Australia.

Linxin Wen, founder and CEO of Chowbus, said following the acquisition, Chowbus’ end goal remains the same: to offer extensive services and technologies to restaurants.

“With the rapid growth of the restaurant SaaS business line, we want to focus and develop better products and services for merchants,” Wen added. “We are confident that our partnership with Fantuan will provide improved and expanded services for merchants across food delivery, restaurant SaaS systems, and beyond.”

Feature image courtesy Fantuan.