Commentary

Cali Group's burger-flipping robot secures $10M in funding

February 15, 2018

Flippy, Caliburger's burger-flipping robot just got a $10 million vote of confidence. Acacia Research Corporation led the round of Series B financing. Other strategic investors included Levy, a sports and entertainment hospitality company; OpenTable chief technology officer, Joseph Essas; founding investor Cali Group and six members of the Cali Group management team; and its subsidiary company, CaliBurger.

Miso Robotics, the creator of Flippy, will use the capital to expand its suite of collaborative, adaptable robotic kitchen assistants, and to broaden applications for Miso AI, the company's machine-learning cloud platform, according to a company press release.

"We are thrilled by the growing confidence in Miso Robotics and remain committed to fulfilling our goal of modernizing the $3 trillion global prepared foods industry," David Zito, co-founder and CEO of Miso Robotics, said in the release. "Acacia's patent expertise and our strategic investors will be invaluable as we continue to commercialize our cutting-edge technology."

Miso Robotics' suite of collaborative, adaptable robotic kitchen assistants and Miso AI platform are meant to boost productivity and improve food quality. This enables restaurants and food providers to accommodate increasing customer expectations for fresher ingredients prepared quickly and consistently, while keeping the cost of food down, Zito said.

"The company's unique position as a pioneer in autonomous solutions for the commercial kitchen will not only transform the modern restaurant, but also will change the way we think about how food is produced and served," Rob Stewart, president of Acacia Research, said in the release.

Miso Robotics has appointed three new members to its advisory board: Joseph Essas, CTO of OpenTable, will serve as a key restaurant technology adviser. Charles C. Fowlkes, an associate professor in the University of California at Irvine Department of Computer Science, and Roboticist Aaron Ames, a California Institute of Technology Bren Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, will serve as machine-learning and artificial intelligence advisers.

The company will soon debut Flippy at the CaliBurger location in Pasadena and will roll out the autonomous robotic kitchen assistant to more than 50 CaliBurger restaurants worldwide by the end of 2019, according to the release.

Technology