iCHEF
Taipei, TW Β· 24 employees on LinkedIn Β· 1 known investors
iCHEF provides a restaurant point-of-sale system for chain restaurant brands, with ERP/accounting integrations, cross-brand sales reporting, HR and payroll system connections, and integrations with payment and delivery platforms. It targets multi-location and multi-brand restaurant operators in Taiwan, offering POS software plus installation, training, and support services.
Also known as iCHEF θ³ε»
Founders & leadership
Investors Β· 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026iCHEF, founded in 2012 and based in Taipei, develops an iPad-based cloud point-of-sale system for restaurants. The core subscription starts at NT$1,950 per month and covers ordering and checkout, sales reports, membership management and electronic invoicing; advanced modules such as QR-code ordering, LINE ordering and online takeaway are priced as add-ons billed by order volume, starting at NT$600 per month for 500 orders, with no lock-in contract. The system runs on standard iPads rather than dedicated POS hardware, syncs data to the cloud, and continues to operate offline for up to 48 continuous hours, syncing once connectivity returns; because data is held in the cloud, damaged iPads or printers can be swapped out and queued orders print automatically after repair.
Functionality spans front-of-house and back-office needs: table arrangement and floor-plan changes, order customization, bill splitting, multiple payment methods per bill, automated and flexible discounting, set meals and upsell configuration, staff clock-in/clock-out with permission controls, and emailed daily reports. Inventory is deducted automatically as dishes are sold, with alerts at set safety-stock levels. The company positions AI-driven menu recommendation and upsell prompts within its ordering flows, and states measured average-ticket uplift of 12β23%. Integrations include LINE official account ordering, Google business takeaway links, foodpanda and Uber Eats delivery platforms, electronic invoicing, mobile and third-party payments (LINE Pay, Apple Pay, ε ¨ζ―δ», ζ ιδ», and earlier JKoPay), AWS, and export of iPad attendance data to HR systems such as 104 δΌζ₯倧師 and Apollo. Automatic reconciliation matches payment and delivery-platform settlements by revenue source.
Alongside software, iCHEF operates a service layer: on-site consultants across Taiwan, a live customer service centre, on-site installation and training (roughly one to two weeks from contract to go-live), a restaurant-owner community with monthly online courses and in-person events, and a sustainability programme run with food-bank partners such as 1919. It also assembled opening-support services for new restaurateurs, including electronic invoicing applications, mobile payment account setup, pest control, food photography, blogger endorsements and bank loan negotiation.
Founding story
iCHEF was founded in 2012. Co-founder Ken Chen was previously menu strategy director for McDonald's Greater China region and observed that Taiwan's roughly 140,000 restaurant owners, generating about NT$800 billion in annual sales, were largely operating as they had twenty years earlier, while technology vendors concentrated on large corporations and left small restaurants behind.
Business model
Subscription software-as-a-service: restaurants pay a recurring monthly fee for the core POS (from NT$1,950/month) plus usage-based add-on modules for online and QR-code ordering (from NT$600/month for 500 orders), with no binding contract and cancellation available at any time. Earlier coverage describes a subscription renewable or cancellable every six months. Hardware is customer-supplied iPads rather than proprietary terminals, and the company bundles installation, training, consulting and support services around the software.
Recurring monthly subscription fees for the POS system, with additional volume-based fees for optional online ordering, QR-code ordering and LINE ordering modules.
Traction
The company states more than 15,000 restaurants in Taiwan use the system and that it has served over 30,000 restaurants overall, with more than one million online ordering transactions per month. In 2020, CommonWealth Magazine reported over 7,000 restaurants using the system eight years after founding.
Latest developments
The company markets an AI-oriented iPad POS with QR-code and LINE ordering, delivery-platform integration, inventory and cost management and sales analytics, stating weekly app updates and more than 15,000 restaurant customers in Taiwan. It secured US$5 million from JAFCO Asia and has signalled an intention to pursue an IPO.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positioned as a restaurant technology provider focused on small and independent restaurants rather than only large F&B chains, in a market the company describes as crowded. It cites design recognition including the iF Design Gold Award (2016), Good Design Award (2015, 2021), German Design Award Special Mention (2016) and Red Dot Design Award (2015) as differentiators.
Contrasts itself with traditional POS by requiring no dedicated terminal hardware, keeping data in the cloud with real-time sync, allowing owners to change menus, prices and floor plans themselves, and embedding AI upsell recommendations that it says raise average ticket by 12β23%. Service depth β opening-support services, consultants, live support centre and an owner community β is presented as a further point of separation from pure software suppliers.
Technology
Cloud-based POS delivered as an iPad application, with local data storage enabling up to 48 hours of offline operation and automatic cloud sync on reconnection, hosted on AWS. Configuration of menus, promotions, floor plans and printer assignments can be changed by the operator from desktop or mobile devices. The product includes AI-based menu and add-on recommendations in ordering flows, automatic inventory deduction, automated discount rules, and integrations with delivery, payment, invoicing and HR systems. The company states the app is updated weekly.
Go-to-market
Direct field sales with regional representatives across Taiwan who demonstrate the system on-site, free consultations and in-store trials, followed by on-site installation and training. The company supplements sales with content, restaurant-owner education (free training on labour regulations, accounting, tax filing and online marketing, with about 3,000 users attending in 2019), a large owner community, and inbound enquiries via web forms and a phone line.
Restaurants in Taiwan of varied formats β night-market stalls, cafΓ©s, breakfast shops, bistros, multi-floor seafood restaurants β with an emphasis on small and independent operators historically underserved by enterprise POS vendors, plus a dedicated offering for chain brands with multi-store back office, cross-store reporting, unified menu management and branch permissions. Around 70% of newly signed customers were restaurants in the pre-opening phase as of 2020.
Geography
Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, with sales representatives stationed across all regions of Taiwan and a Taiwan-focused website; a separate international-language site is maintained alongside the Taiwan site.
History
Founded in 2012, the company accumulated startup and design recognition through the mid-2010s, including the Neo Star Demo Show top award (2013), Echelon Japan Most Promising Startup and Echelon 2014 Global Brain Award (2014), Start Up Nation Summit top 15 (2014), the GBAF World Ventures Pitch Battle top award (2014), Future Commerce (2015), Red Dot and Good Design awards (2015), the iF Design Gold Award (2016), a German Design Award special mention (2016) and a Good Design Award win (2021). In late 2018 it integrated LINE Pay and JKoPay into the POS, later adding delivery-platform, Google and LINE ordering integrations, and it raised US$5 million from JAFCO Asia while stating an intention to move toward an IPO.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 13
launches, deals, and filingsJapan Good Design Award recognising iCHEF's combination of POS integration and online ordering.
In late 2018 iCHEF integrated the LINE Pay and JKoPay mobile payment services into its point-of-sale system.
iCHEF received US$5 million from JAFCO Asia, with the company reported as heading toward an IPO.
$5M source β
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- iCHEFichefpos.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does iCHEF do?
- iCHEF is a Taiwan-based provider of a cloud iPad point-of-sale system used by more than 15,000 restaurants.
- Who founded iCHEF?
- iCHEF was founded by Ken Chen, η¨ιδ½.
- Who are iCHEF's investors?
- iCHEF's investors include AppWorks Ventures.
- Where is iCHEF headquartered?
- iCHEF is headquartered in Taipei, TW.