Korean AI foodtech startup CTRL-M has raised approximately USD 1.8 million(KRW 2.5 billion) in a pre-Series A funding round. This comes just ten months after securing seed funding in December last year from Translink Investment and MYSC (MY Social Company).

CTRL-M focuses on addressing the high business closure rate among small restaurant owners by digitizing the entire restaurant management process and integrating AI technology to boost efficiency. The company has developed and operates “Resto-Genie,” an AI-powered restaurant management solution designed specifically for foodservice operators. Resto-Genie provides all the essential functions required to run a restaurant — including ordering, delivery, marketing, staff recruitment, and data management — all powered by AI.

In addition, CTRL-M has launched a Korean-inspired fast-food brand called “SlamBurger.” Following the successful opening of its Gangnam branch in May, the company opened a second location in Daehakro earlier this month.

According to CTRL-M, the application of Resto-Genie’s marketing solution and AI vision camera at the Gangnam branch of SlamBurger resulted in a twofold increase in both sales and profit, achieving a 41% conversion rate among visiting customers.

The company plans to launch a franchise-focused version of Resto-Genie later this year, featuring three core AI solutions, including marketing. In 2026, CTRL-M will roll out a B2C version with eight additional features, enabling individual restaurant owners to use the platform more broadly.

Following this new round, CTRL-M’s cumulative investment total has reached approximately USD 3.2 million(KRW 4.5 billion). The achievement is noteworthy given the current slowdown in the venture investment market.

With this latest funding, CTRL-M intends to advance its AI technologies — including vertical LLMs and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) — to strengthen its big data-based decision-support system. The goal is to empower restaurant operators to make effective business decisions through simple conversational interfaces.

Kwon Yoo-jin, Partner at Translink Investment, commented, “There has never been a solution like RestoGenie in Korea. It has proven to be highly effective in improving restaurant operations and driving real sales growth. We expect ControlM to receive strong market validation and expand actively into global markets.”

CEO Jongkwan Won stated, “Our mission is to reduce restaurant closure rates and build sustainable profit models for small business owners. With this investment, we will accelerate AI technology advancement and global market entry so that Resto-Genie can become a trusted partner for restaurant owners around the world.”

Before founding CTRL-M in 2022, CEO Won served as Head of E-commerce at E-Land Group and has been active in the F&B startup sector for the past three years. In addition to developing Resto-Genie and operating SlamBurger, CTRL-M also runs a food material processing plant in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.