(Bloomberg) -- A startup with an AI-platform that controls the flow of beer from the keg to the tap -- and set the amount of foam -- plans to expand into the U.K. and Czech Republic.
Pubinno, founded in Istanbul in 2015 before relocating to San Francisco, expects its valuation to increase to $30 million after its latest investment round, from $20 million previously, said Can Algul, a co-founder of the company.
“We are in talks with investors from Turkey, Israel and the U.S.,” Algul said in an interview at the company's Turkey headquarters, which resembles a pub more than an office with bars and stools as meeting places and coolers full of beer. “We want to complete the round by the end of the second quarter.”
Pubinno designs and produces the hardware and software for beer taps that use artificial intelligence to maintain a steady flow, cut wastage and keep the beverage at its ideal temperature. Existing investors, including Trivago GmbH co-founder Rolf Schroemgens and Nevzat Aydin, the chief executive officer and one of the founders of Delivery Hero SE's yemeksepeti.com, own 30% of the firm.
The company, which operates in Spain, Mexico, Israel and Cyprus, wants to add the U.K and Czech Republic to its portfolio because they have among the highest keg penetration rates in the world, Algul said. In the U.K., 42% of all beer consumption is from kegs, while the ratio is 38% for Czech consumers, according to data Algul cited from Jefferies Financial Group and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The startup operates more than 2,000 taps around the world and is hoping to reach a $1 billion valuation by 2023, when it wants to have 100,000 taps, Algul said.
About 50 suppliers mostly based in China and Switzerland make 160 pieces needed to produce one unit, which is assembled by Turkish manufacturer Karel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, he said. Pubinno serves pubs in Turkey through an agreement with Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt Sanayii AS, the country's biggest brand owner, Algul said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at eersoy@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, ;Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Vernon Wessels
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