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Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery operates as a vertically integrated, tech-enabled platform providing delivery and carryout-only Chinese-American cuisine. The company leverages proprietary technology to streamline order fulfillment and delivery logistics, ensuring efficiency and consistent service. This model modernizes the traditional Chinese takeout experience through operational precision.
Min Choe and Angell Tsang co-founded Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery in 2017. Their vision stemmed from an insight into the evolving dining landscape, recognizing an opportunity to combine authentic Chinese-American flavors with a delivery-centric model. They sought to reinvigorate Chinese-American entrepreneurship while addressing community needs through a highly efficient, direct-to-consumer approach.
Tso Chinese Takeout & Delivery serves a broad customer base seeking high-quality, affordable, and conveniently delivered Chinese-American food. The company's long-term vision centers on expanding its unique operational model to new markets, continuously refining its technology to enhance customer experience. It aims to remain a leader in the tech-driven food delivery sector.
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 has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in May 2019.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2019 | $2M Seed | — | Austin Ventures, Bitcoiner Ventures, Brand Foundry Ventures, G20 Ventures, Starting Line, VU Venture Partners, Paul Hedrick | Announced |
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.
