How Chef Robotics found success by turning away its original customers

A few years ago, the chef faced robototechnical potential death.

“I had many dark periods I thought to give up,” he said. But friends and investors encouraged them to crush it.

Today, cook robototechnical is not only survived, one of several developing food robot companies. It has a recently launching a series of $ 23 million, amy’s kitchen and 40 employees and Marquee customer like a kitchen and chef bombay. Bhageria says dozens of robots installed in the United States have so far prepared 45 million meals.

This is compared to the cemetery of Failed FoodTech Robotics Company Chowbotics with Robot Sally preparing salad; Pizza Delivery Robot ZumeOpen food kiosk robot CarakuriAnd nearer recently, agtech Small robot company.

Bhageria says he saved his company by doing something that the early-stage founders were afraid of making: signed customers and millions of dollars away.

Grasping problem

All started when Bhageria has a master’s degree in robotics Laboratory of the famous perception of upenn. Sci-Fi, our robots did our homework, mowed our lawns, cooked a five-star dinner.

Such a world is not yet because engineers should still solve the robot Courageous problem. Creamy robot is a hard work to teach the same robot to wash without shaking a wine glass.

When it comes to robotic chefs, “Nobody get a blue blue blue and hunt him or how did you get the cheese and how did you get it?” describes.

The original idea with the chef robotics, resembles the long-term list of robotic startups: a robot line for fast random restaurants. This is a great industry by a chronic employee deficiency.

“We actually signed contracts. As we signed many million dollars agreements. It is clear that we do not do this.” What happened? ” Said. “We could not solve the technical problem essentially.”

In this type of business, an employee complements a command by collecting all the different items needed for each meal. The restaurant wants to repeat this process of robots, because alternatives are dedicated to a part, and some can only be used. (We look at you, anchovy).

However, Bhageria and team, Something successful because there is no training information, could not build a robot. He asked potential customers to set up robots, training information and from there for the substance. They do not.

Then there was Bhageria Epifany.

Instead of trying to give the existing customers what they want, maybe he needed different customers. “I honestly sucked these people, this fast random companies, I tried to convince these fast casual companies, and I had half of my life and half.”

No no

After 2021, Fundraising did not help. VCS also looked at the cemetery. “We talked to different funds with them,” Bhageria said. “We only rejected again and again.”

Bhageria was thinking about giving up. “You come home and what do I do in my life? I’m doing something wrong? I’m out?” He remembered.

But he went in and In March 2023, $ 11.2 million seeds rounded Although the construction of capital construction is also included from Promotions, Kleiner Perkins, Gaingels.

Bhageria and the team also found the perfect market, which is part of the food industry known as “high mixed production”.

These are many recipes and thousands of servings, but the food manufacturer who gives thousands of servants such as food or cooking. For example; Salads and sandwiches or main courses and side dishes. These are airlines and hospitals, p. Are foods used by or frozen food for consumers.

More than an employee who captures all items for each meal, “high mixed” employees create an assembly line. Each person has repeatedly adds the individual component until the order is completed. Then they collect the next recipe.

“It is really hundreds of people standing in the 34th Fahrenheit room, and they also eat eight hours a day.” “So it’s just a terrible job.”

As a result, this industry has a chronic labor deficiency.

In the past, robototics were not economically impossible for them due to the diversity of past substances. However, a starting setting building, a flexible bot in which the robots are established in partnership with the food manufacturer.

It is better, “” How to do this horizontal or learn this sauce or this sauce or this sauce, “we finally get the real world training information you need to serve fast random restaurants. Bhageria says it’s still on its road map.

All the best, according to the interest of VC, this time Fundraising was “strange” this time, says Bhageria.

The former Norvest VC Mohan Kumar was founded by APERAAAR Venture partners, especially in the “AI Physical world”, actually watching the chef robotics. This tour was tied for less than one month. Avataar, capital of existing investors, Bloomberg Beta, Promotentants, LED LED between others.

The new financing is transferred to the sum of the chef to $ 38.8 million. The Silicon Valley signed a loan of $ 26.75 million to finance equipment from the bank.

And this time the process said “exciting”.