This week saw closures, cuts, and budget woes for not one, not two, but three Bay Area robot companies, all of which are focused on replacing humans with cyborgs in coffee shops and restaurants. Coverage of their struggles suggests that all three companies appear to be struggling to scale, and it’s still unclear if these businesses can convert from being a wacky novelty to part of a diner’s regular routine.
Back in November, Recode characterized Mountain View-based Zume Pizza as a “Silicon Valley punchline.” The company, which at the time was poised to double its valuation to $4 billion, is “on a relentless quest to create a smarter and more sustainable food system,” its website reads. It first did so by using robots with names like Vincenzo, Bruno, Pepe, and Giorgio to prepare pizzas that were then sent out for delivery to customers across the Bay Area.
It was a model that attracted a $375 million from now-infamous investment fund SoftBank, but it wasn’t to last, as MSNBC reports that the company has given up on the robot pizza game to focus on building a compostable packaging business, a pivot that means it will shed about 360 employees, which is about half of its staff. The future of Vincenzo, Bruno, Pepe, and Giorgio remains unknown.
Another SoftBank-backed startup, Creator, is also reportedly on the rocks, Axios reported Monday. As one might recall, Creator opened with a splash in the summer of 2018, promising the world’s first robot-made burgers inside its SoMa location. Unlike Zume, Creator’s burget bots are purposefully nameless, and are able to create 130 burgers in an hour.
Creator’s automated $6 product was good enough to quell the fears of SF Chronicle food critic Soleil Ho, who said that her burger was “satisfying and affordable enough that I’d keep going back for lunch.” But Axios reports that the company is now “totally screwed” after expected investments from SoftBank hit “unexplained delay after unexplained delay” (an experience echoed by numerous other non-food-related startups, it should be noted). Representatives with Creator have not responded to a request for on-the-record comment, but all might not be lost, as “a source close to SoftBank says negotiations remain active,” Axios reports. For now, the SoMa restaurant remains open for business.
More clear is the closure of robot coffee shop Cafe X’s three San Francisco locations, all of which have abruptly shuttered. The Chron reports that the company’s robots at One Bush Plaza, inside the Metreon, and at Market and Montgomery have all powered down. Founder Henry Hu confirmed the shutdown on Twitter, and in a follow-up statement to The Spoon, said, “Having learned everything we could from our San Francisco locations, we decided to laser focus on growing Cafe X at airports through partnerships with leading coffee brands and retailers in addition to Cafe X operated units.”
Via tweet, Hu said that Cafe X, which has two remaining locations at SFO and at the San Jose airport, “will be expanding to more airports in 2020.” However, according to Axios, the company also asked its human employees to “to volunteer to take two weeks of unpaid leave at year-end, in an effort to conserve cash.” Cafe X, which had raised $15 million in VC, is reportedly attempting to raise another round of funding, a matter that is reportedly taking longer than expected.