UAE-based LUNCH:ON has closed its $3 million Series A round. The first closing of this investment round was led by Wamda Capital and included investment from EATventure, Arzan VC and Abu Nayyan Holding among others.

The investment will be used to expand the food technology startup’s presence in the UAE and begin its expansion into Saudi Arabia.

Co-founded in 2016 by Mohammad Al Zaben and Dana Baki, LUNCH:ON operates like a virtual canteen for companies, offering curated meals from a selection of restaurants at discounted prices.

“LUNCH:ON, in essence, serves as your company’s food partner, and creates a win-win for both customers and restaurants,” said Dana Baki, “By consolidating orders by office buildings, and delivering to the same place at the same time, we are able to eliminate delivery fees and negotiate better pricing with restaurant partners. These savings are passed on to our customers, offering them a greater selection of meals at just 25 AED.”

The investment will also be used to boost the company’s technology which has been developed inhouse by its 13-person strong engineering team. LUNCH:ON’s prediction software and scheduling algorithms which factor in user preferences and ordering patterns enables the company to pair restaurants with customers on a daily basis.

“Coordinating thousands of lunch deliveries to countless office locations from restaurants all over the city, all within a 30-minute window, would not be possible without strong tech,” said Zaben.

 “We are very pleased with LUNCH:ON's continued success and we believe that this latest round will allow the company to expand its geographic footprint as well as venture into new offerings that will help redefine the food space,” said Khaled Talhouni, Managing Partner at Wamda Capital.