StartupFox

Popo Global has raised ₹532 crore, about $56 million, from Artal Asia in exchange for a significant minority stake. It is the first external capital the Bengaluru restaurant company has taken in nine years.

Brothers Nikhil Gupta and Abhijit Gupta founded it in 2017, starting with The Pizza Bakery, a sourdough pizza brand, and later adding Paris Panini, which sells French-inspired paninis, sandwiches, wraps and crepes, and the smash burger kitchen Smash Guys. It now runs around 40 outlets, all of them in Bengaluru, and owns and operates every one directly rather than franchising.

The company reported revenue of roughly ₹175 crore in FY25 and was profitable, having funded its expansion almost entirely from its own operations until now.