'AI Food Tech Company' ControlM Secures Additional 2.5 Billion Won Investment

Development and Operation of AI-Based Restaurant Solution 'RestoGenie'
"Pursuing Global Expansion of K-Food Franchises"

ControlM, an artificial intelligence (AI) food tech company, announced on October 16 that it has secured an additional investment of 2.5 billion won through a Pre-A funding round. This comes just 10 months after it attracted seed funding from TransLink Investment and MY Social Company (MYSC) in December last year. With this latest round, the company’s total accumulated investment has increased to 4.5 billion won.

ControlM has focused on addressing the high closure rate among self-employed business owners by developing and operating “RestoGenie,” a dedicated solution for restaurant operators that digitalizes the entire restaurant management process and applies AI to enhance efficiency.

RestoGenie offers all the functions needed for restaurant operations-including ordering, delivery, marketing, staff recruitment, and data management-based on AI technology. ControlM has also launched the fast-food brand “Slam Burger,” opening its Daehak-ro branch earlier this month following the Gangnam branch in May. According to ControlM, the Gangnam branch saw both sales and profits nearly double after adopting RestoGenie’s marketing solution and AI vision cameras, achieving a purchase conversion rate of 41% among visiting customers.

Within this year, RestoGenie will first be released as a franchise version containing three essential solutions, such as marketing, most needed by business owners. Next year, eight additional functions will be added, upgrading it to a B2C (business-to-consumer) version that any restaurant operator can use.

Won Jonggwan, CEO of ControlM, previously served as head of the e-commerce business division at E-Land Group before entering the food and beverage (F&B) startup sector three years ago. Founded in 2022, ControlM not only operates RestoGenie and its own F&B brands like Slam Burger but also runs a food ingredient factory in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.

CEO Won stated, “Our company’s mission is to lower the closure rate for self-employed business owners and create a sustainable profit structure. With this investment, we will accelerate the advancement of our AI technology and global expansion, so that RestoGenie can become a reliable partner for restaurant owners not only in Korea but around the world.”

Kwon Yujin, Partner at TransLink Investment, explained the reason for the investment: “We noted that there has never been a solution like RestoGenie in Korea before, and it is highly effective in improving restaurant operational efficiency. By driving real revenue growth in the food service industry and receiving positive market feedback, we expect RestoGenie to actively expand into global markets in the future.”