Paris‑based foodtech startup Kikleo has closed a €3.5 million funding round led by Newfund, with participation from Bpifrance, existing shareholders, and procedural support from Avelana. The fresh capital will drive Kikleo’s expansion across Europe and into the United States, scale its AI platform, and strengthen its on‑the‑ground support teams for restaurant partners.
Since its founding in 2019 by Martin d’Agay and Vincent Garcia, and the 2023 joining of Jean Dussaix, Kikleo has built a reputation for harnessing AI to turn raw data in commercial kitchens into actionable insight — helping chefs and operators reduce repetitive tasks and focus more on food quality and customer experience. Through more than 5 million scanned trays, the system measures waste, tracks loss, and recommends operational changes. As of 2024, over 250 establishments across education, healthcare, hospitality, and corporate catering have adopted the solution — preventing the disposal of 400,000 meals, roughly 240 tonnes of food, and avoiding about 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
“Kikleo now has access to a uniquely detailed understanding of food waste by diner age, restaurant type, region, and season,” co‑founder Vincent Garcia said, pointing out that the algorithm is “continuously improving, making the analyses ever more reliable, precise, and actionable.”
The new funding will be used to:
Enhance the AI platform’s data‑processing abilities and operational efficiency in kitchen settings.
Expand field teams to help restaurant clients integrate and sustain change.
Support growth not only in France but in broader European markets and the U.S.
Newfund’s Investment Director, Marjolaine Catil, commented, “AI takes on its full meaning when it connects to reality and transforms concrete challenges. Kikleo is the perfect example: a technology that disrupts a traditional sector like catering, bringing immediate gains to teams while transforming raw waste data into a strategic asset.”
Editorial: Why Kikleo Looks Poised to Make Lasting Impact
Kikleo is operating in one of the most crucial grey zones of both environmental sustainability and hospitality operations. Restaurants are traditionally low-margin businesses, where inefficiencies show up both in bottom‑line losses and environmental footprint. By offering intelligence from waste streams, Kikleo helps businesses save on food costs, reduce labor wasted on guesswork, and improve their environmental credentials — all of which are increasingly important to consumers, regulators, and investors.
Meanwhile, upcoming regulatory pressure in Europe — such as EU mandates to cut food waste by 30 % by 2030, and more ambitious targets in France — means that adopting tools like Kikleo’s won’t just be nice to have; they may become necessary. Kikleo’s progress in managing over 5 million scanned trays suggests it already has enough operational data to refine its AI, making insight more accurate and reducing friction in adoption.
However, challenges lie ahead. Scaling into different markets (especially outside France) means adapting to diverse regulatory regimes, food culture norms, supply chain logistics, and cost structures. Success will depend not just on the sophistication of the AI, but on how well Kikleo can partner with local operators, manage data privacy, and ensure ROI for restaurants under different economic pressures.
Still, the momentum is strong. With €3.5 million in fresh backing, a proven track record in domestic operations, and pressing global demand for solutions to food waste both for cost savings and climate goals, Kikleo looks well positioned to continue scaling impact meaningfully.
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