V-Sharp buys 25% of Czech smart-fridge firm Eat Smart to fuel European push
What's the deal? Czech investment group V-Sharp, founded by Michal Menšík, is acquiring a 25% stake in Innovation LabDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the company behind smart-fridge catering project Eat SmartDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The deal, announced in October 2026, carries an undisclosed price. Eat Smart was built by chef Filip Sajler and Hopi HoldingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → as an alternative to traditional corporate canteens.
What's the endgame? Eat Smart places glass smart fridges in workplaces, letting employees take fresh, boxed meals around the clock. Each box carries an RFID chip, so the app charges the customer automatically when the fridge closes. Meals cost 109 to 149 Czech koruna, and companies pay a monthly flat fee in the tens of thousands of koruna, avoiding the millions needed to build and run a canteen.
Why now? Eat Smart has grown fast, expanding from 30 fridge locations to 80 in 2025 and lifting meal sales from 99,000 to 312,000 portions. It now sells about 50,000 meals a month across offices, factories, universities, and hospitals, with dozens more fridges awaiting installation.
What's V-Sharp's play? The investment fits a strategic shift toward private equity — stakes in established firms with proven models that it can scale through management, sales, and expansion. "What appealed to us about Eat Smart was that it already has a working product, a growing customer base, and results that confirm market interest," Menšík said (translated from Czech).
Who brings what? Hopi Holding, a family group active in logistics, food, and agriculture, supplies food-production and logistics backing. V-Sharp — whose most prominent holding is logistics firm Dodo — brings experience running and expanding technology companies. Menšík plans to help Eat Smart enter further European markets.
The signal: The deal reflects a broader move toward unattended food retail and V-Sharp's pivot from early-stage bets to growth-stage stakes. The sharper test will be whether Eat Smart can replicate its Czech model abroad without sacrificing food quality or unit economics.
Read more: forbes.cz
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
