Saudi Foodtech Calo Raises $25M in Series B, Plans for IPO by 2027

Ahmed Alrawi, Calo Founder

Calo, the Middle East’s largest foodtech startup revolutionising personalised meal subscriptions, today announced it has raised SAR 94 million ($25 million) in its Series B funding round. Headquartered in Riyadh and backed by leading investment firms from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Calo’s Series B features returning investors, including Nuwa Capital, who led the round, and the participation of STV and Khwarizmi Ventures, along with regional family offices. 

Investor confidence, demonstrated by the oversubscription of the Series B round, has led Calo to extend the round to a total of $50 million, with an additional $25 million raise planned for Q1 2025.

Calo was founded towards the end of 2019 by Ahmed Alrawi, who was soon joined by Moayed Almoayed as co-founder. The global quick service restaurant market continues to see high growth and is valued at over $500 billion, with no clear winner in the “healthy” category. Calo today is the world’s fastest-growing meal subscription service and has recorded an unprecedented nine-figure annualised revenue ($ million), with over 100% CAGR over the past five years (2020-2024).

“It’s been truly a privilege to be ‘making healthy easy’ over the past few years for hundreds of thousands of customers, but it’s still day 1 for us,” said Ahmed Al Rawi, Founder & CEO, Calo. “Being in Saudi, we’re inspired to think big and be ambitious. There’s no reason why we can’t export innovation from the region to the rest of the world. The top 10 food brands globally earn $300B a year, none of which are solving the health problem. We bet that in the next 10 years, there will be a healthy brand that climbs to the top 10 list, and we aspire to be that brand having tech & innovation in our DNA from day 1”.

As obesity and lifestyle-related diseases rise, Calo is committed to making healthy eating accessible. The company’s personalised meal plans cater to individual fitness goals and dietary preferences, leveraging cutting-edge technology to deliver over 10 million meals in 2024 alone. 

“Calo is reimagining how the world adopts healthy lifestyles by being customer obsessed and creating products that truly solve the problem. At Nuwa, we are excited to return as investors due to our deep conviction in Ahmed’s vision and Calo’s ability to build a category-leading technology business that has delivered consistent growth across geographies, solving a big overlooked problem,” said Khaled Talhouni, Managing Partner, Nuwa Capital. 

Following its Series B round, Calo will invest in strengthening its position as the leader of meal subscriptions in the GCC region with further personalisation through AI and the introduction of new products. The company’s strategy will also see expansion into adjacent business lines like retail, where Calo has already launched five physical locations generating 7-figure revenues, as well as tackling global expansion through M&A with its first acquisition targeted to close in Q1 2025. The company will also hire for strategic leadership roles to lead the business through this accelerated expansion phase and IPO journey planned for 2027 in Saudi Arabia.

Calo previously raised $26 million from investors including Vision Ventures, 500 Startups, Savour Ventures, Nama Ventures and other angels. The company has operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait. 

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