UK – HungryPanda, a UK-based online delivery platform specifically targeting Chinese consumers outside of China has raised US$70 million in a series C funding led by Swedish investment firm Kinnevik.

Kinnevik is joining previous investors 83North and Felix Capital, which between them are said to have experience of building platforms such as Deliveroo and Just Eat.

Other investors backing this round include Piton Capital, VNV Global and BurdaPrincipal Investments.

Unlike other food delivery startups which do not have a specific target population, HungryPanda is specifically focused on serving the food and grocery needs of Chinese living outside China.

The startup takes food Chinese restaurants and Asian grocery stores to Chinese diaspora who are estimated to be over 50 million, a population that is nearly 3 times the size of Netherlands.

In the long term, this number could potentially run into tens of millions if you consider second, third and further generations of people, a further ground for growth for HungryPanda’s model of business.

Betting on this growth, Kinnevik was convinced enough to invest a whooping US$35 million in the Chinese focused food delivery app.

“As digital adoption advances, we see an opportunity for community-oriented marketplaces that have a deeper understanding of targeted audiences and a more tailored product,” said Kinnevik CEO, Georgi Ganev.

The series Cfunding comes on the back of a surge of usage of HungryPanda.

The starup is now live in 47 cities (versus 31 in February of this year) across Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, the US,  and the U.K. — the country where it was founded.

HungryPanda’s CEO and founder Eric Liu said in an interview that it is already profitable in its earliest markets in the U.K., as well as in New York City.

With the new funding round it is safely en route to getting into the black in other locations.

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