French Foodtech Startup Kikleo Secures €3.5M To Reduce Restaurant Food Waste

The funding round was led by Newfund, with participation from Bpifrance, existing shareholders, and guidance from Avelana.

Following 2023 backing from Avelana, Good Only Ventures, and Jean Dussaix to test scalability in France, the new investment will support Kikleo’s growth across Europe and the United States.

Founded in 2019 by Martin d’Agay and Vincent Garcia, and joined in 2023 by Jean Dussaix (20 years in catering), Kikleo aims to reduce food waste in restaurants and promote sustainable practices.

The company leverages artificial intelligence to transform kitchen data into actionable insights, minimizing repetitive tasks and enabling teams to focus on meal quality and guest satisfaction.

Read Also - France’s DJUST Raises €7M To Enhance B2B Commerce With AI Agents And DJUST Pay Integration

With over 5 million trays scanned, Kikleo’s system tracks and measures food waste helping restaurants make informed decisions and optimize operations.

In a statement translated from French, co-founder Vincent Garcia says, “This amount of data is unique in France and provides a detailed and unprecedented understanding of food waste by diner age, restaurant type, region, and season.”

“We have developed an algorithm that is continuously improving, making the analyses ever more reliable, precise, and actionable. We are therefore proud to collaborate with ADEME’s work by enriching national knowledge on food waste.”

The funding will support Kikleo’s expansion across France, Europe, and the United States. The company will also enhance its AI platform to optimize data processing and boost operational efficiency in kitchens.

Part of the funding will be used to expand Kikleo’s field teams, ensuring restaurant partners receive hands-on support in implementing and managing the solution effectively.

In a LinkedIn post translated from French, Vincent Garcia, co-founder at Kikleo, says, “We now have the ambition to multiply our impact, and to do so, we must aim big and far. It is with this in mind that we met Marjolaine Catil. We were immediately convinced that Newfund is the right partner to accelerate our development in France, Europe and the United States.”

“We have come a long way, but there is still so much to do in a sector that is at the centre of our lives. The transition will take place collectively, and we will need all of our partners to achieve this. Thank you to NewFund and our historical shareholders for their trust. We look forward to writing this new page in the adventure together.”

Marjolaine Catil, Investment Director at Newfund, adds, “AI takes on its full meaning when it connects to reality and transforms concrete challenges. Kikleo is the perfect example: a technology that disrupts a traditional sector like catering, bringing immediate gains to teams while transforming raw waste data into a strategic asset.”

“After proving the relevance and scalability of their model in France, we are proud to support them in their transition to international scale, an expansion guided by the same on-the-ground approach, working closely with local stakeholders.”

Food waste has significant environmental, financial, and social impacts, contributing nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and costing the restaurant industry around €132B annually. In Europe each citizen discards an average of 132 kilograms of food yearly, while millions struggle to afford daily meals.

To combat this, the EU mandates a 30% reduction in food waste by 2030, with France targeting a 50% reduction. Kikleo provides a data-driven solution to help restaurants meet these goals combining cameras and patented AI to track waste from preparation and uneaten meals. Its digital platform analyzes data to measure financial losses, calculate environmental impact, identify causes of waste, and recommend actionable improvements.

Kikleo works closely with restaurant partners to implement these measures, delivering measurable results: average waste reduction of 20% in the first year, up to 65% over time, with annual savings of €50,000 per site. Between 2022 and 2024, Kikleo helped prevent 240 tons of food waste, equivalent to 400,000 meals, generating €2M in savings, avoiding 1,000 tons of CO₂ emissions, and conserving 800 million litres of water.

Newfund, founded in 2008 by François Véron and Patrick Malka, is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage companies with international growth potential. Operating from Paris, Silicon Valley, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Newfund manages €400M in assets, has invested in over 120 companies, and supports founders from seed funding through later-stage growth, backed by a network of entrepreneurs and family offices in France.