Korean robot kitchen startup, Aniai, which has automated the hamburger production process, has attracted $3 million in seed investment. The seed investment is the largest amount in a single round in the food tech robot startup industry. Capstone Partners and Lotte Ventures participated in this investment.
Aniai has attracted an exceptionally large amount of investment as it was highly evaluated for its potential in the US market, which is the home of hamburgers, according to market analysts.Aniai, in its third year of business, has successfully commercialized an AI robot that bakes hamburger patties for the first time in Korea. The domestic handmade burger franchise ‘Cry Cheeseburger’ has used Aniai ‘s hamburger patty cooking robot ‘Alpha Grill’ since 2022. Joint R&D with famous franchise companies is also underway to realize kitchen automation.
The hamburger patty cooking robot ‘Alpha Grill’ cooks both sides of the patty simultaneously according to the temperature and thickness entered in advance. It takes about a minute for Alpha Grill to cook both sides of a hamburger patty. The company explains that it is possible to maintain consistent taste and quality by checking the patty’s shape and degree of baking with a camera using a vision sensor in the Alpha Grill. The grill can produce up to 200 patties per hour, so the restaurant can quickly deliver orders during the busiest hours.
Based on this investment, Aniai plans to enter the United States, the home of 150 trillion won worth of hamburgers. In cooperation with the Korea International Trade Association and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in New York City, USA, Aniai has secured a demonstration opportunity at Abe’s Corner restaurant. In addition, it plans to participate in the National Restaurant Association Show (NRA Show), the world’s largest food service exhibition held in Chicago in May of this year, and meet key US food service industry officials to pioneer new markets.
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