Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery is a technology company.
Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round.
Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery's investors include Austin Ventures, Bitcoiner Ventures, Brand Foundry Ventures, G20 Ventures, Starting Line, VU Venture Partners, Paul Hedrick.
Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery is a tech-enabled food delivery company specializing in Chinese takeout and delivery from cloud kitchens in Austin and Round Rock, Texas. It builds a custom e-commerce platform for online ordering, kitchen management, and delivery logistics, serving consumers seeking affordable, fresh Chinese-American dishes like General Tso Chicken without tips or service fees.[1][2][4][5] The company solves high costs in food delivery by operating no-tipping, low-overhead cloud kitchens, achieving early profitability with $1.56M in first-year sales (2018) and raising $5.7M over three rounds at a $20M valuation, now with 51-200 employees and five locations.[1][2][3]
Founded in 2017 by husband-and-wife team Min and Jenna Choe, Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery emerged from their decade-plus experience in the restaurant industry, starting with their first Chinese restaurant in West Austin in 2005.[1][2][3] After running multiple concepts and raising three children, the Choes identified a gap for quick-service Chinese food optimized for delivery and takeout via cloud kitchens, launching on August 23, 2017, with instant success and profitability in the first month—far exceeding projections.[1] Some sources note involvement from two married couples, but primary founders are the Choes, with Min as CEO across related ventures.[1][2][3]
Tso rides the cloud kitchen and food tech boom, capitalizing on post-2017 delivery surges from platforms like DoorDash while avoiding their fees through owned logistics and direct e-commerce.[1][3][4] Timing aligns with rising demand for Chinese-American cuisine (second to pizza in U.S. delivery) and no-tipping preferences amid labor shifts.[1][2] Market forces like e-commerce growth and scalable SaaS for food ops favor its model, influencing Austin's ecosystem via local job creation (56-200 employees), VC backing in "Food & Tech," and community reinvestment—positioning it as a hybrid restaurant-tech player against third-party dominance.[2][3][4]
Tso's momentum—fifth location in 2025, $5.7M raised, and expansion to Cedar Park/Pflugerville—signals multi-city scaling via its tech platform.[2][3] Trends like AI-optimized logistics, cuisine diversification, and ghost kitchen proliferation will shape growth, potentially evolving it into a national Chinese delivery leader with franchise-like reach while staying founder-led and community-rooted.[1][2][3] This tech-forward takeout pioneer exemplifies how custom software disrupts traditional dining, delivering value without the bloat.
Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in May 2019.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2019 | $2.0M Seed | Austin Ventures, Bitcoiner Ventures, Brand Foundry Ventures, G20 Ventures, Starting Line, VU Venture Partners, Paul Hedrick |