Venice Startup Grubwithus Acquires Canadian Company

Venice-based startup Grubwithus, a social dining network that connects like-minded people over meals, has reached up north to acquire the Canadian-based company The Social Feed.

The Social Feed had a similar model focused on building group meals around various interests and the acquisition continues Grubwithus' efforts for international expansion, the company said in a statement.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Grubwithus acquired the Vancouver-based company's existing user base and restaurant partners.

"Responding directly to the feedback and requests we've received from our grubbers, we recognized that expansion into Canada was inevitable and necessary," said Eddy Lu, CEO and co-founder of Grubwithus. "We see in The Social Feed the opportunity to sensibly grow and develop our brand by leveraging their established and proven presence."

The Social Feed started in January 2010 exclusively in Vancouver and Toronto and hosted meals ranging from 14 to 60 people. The company's three founders will serve as Canadian advisors to Grubwithus.

Grubwithus was founded in July 2010 by Lu and Daishin Sugano, both graduates of UC Berkeley, and has more than 700 restaurant partners and more than 30,000 registered users. It recently hosted its first meal in Cincinnati.

The company in May announced that it had secured $5 million in a Series A investment from Los Angeles-based venture capital firm, GRP Partners, and participation from Lebanese entrepreneur Michel Daher. The company previously received $1.6 million in seed funding in May 2011 from several venture capital firms and angel investors, including celebrity Ashton Kutcher.

Grubwithus is based in Venice and has about 15 employees. The company allows users to browse around to either find people to eat with or restaurants to eat at. Members can reserve a seat and pay in advance and then show up to eat and socialize.