AB Talks: How Kitopi grew from a start-up to a $1 billion in three years

Unicorns have always captured the imagination of children, but increasingly it’s the business world that’s enraptured with the mythical beast.

That’s for two reasons, the first being the creature is now synonymous with success, having become a definition in the dictionary that means a company which has achieved a valuation greater than $1 billion.

But there is another definition that also fits ‘something that is highly desirable but difficult to find or obtain’, that certainly speaks to the unusual level of success required to pass said valuation.

Kitopi is a company which fits both descriptions, having become the UAE’s latest company to achieve unicorn status after it raised $415 million from a group of investors including SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2.

It’s a milestone which the cloud kitchen company passed in just three years in operation. Mohamad Ballout, CEO and co-founder sat down with Arabian Business at their recently-minted premises in Hessa Street, Dubai, to unpack the success.

(Source: ArabianBusiness YouTube channel)