Aniai – a fast-growing robotic company and global leader in innovative kitchen solutions – recently announced that it has successfully secured a $12 million pre-Series A funding round. Led by InterVest (one of the largest venture capital firms in South Korea), the funding round includes investments from new investors, such as SV Investment and UK-based Ignite Innovation, and an existing investor, Capstone Partners. This most recent investment brings Aniai’s total funding to $15 million.
Launched in 2020, Aniai is a groundbreaking startup spearheading the innovation, development, and commercialization of a robotic solution for cooking hamburgers. The company’s flagship product ‘Alpha Grill’ utilizes robotics for efficient hamburger cooking, boasting a double-sided grill that can cook up to eight patties simultaneously or 200 patties per hour. When Alpha Grill is set up in a kitchen, restaurant brands can streamline operations by eliminating repetitive tasks associated with hamburger patty cooking tasks, such as pressing and flipping. This reduces cooking time and also decreases labor intensity for employees.
This upcoming software release for Alpha Grill will include a feature that will employ AI to discern the color of the hamburger patties and assess their quality through real-time vision sensors during the cooking process. For instance, if a hamburger patty does not meet the brand’s cooking specifications and requirements, the Alpha Grill promptly notifies the cooking staff, ensuring rigorous and enhanced quality control. The latest cloud-based AI feature from Aniai will make its debut at the National Restaurant Association Show, an industry-leading foodservice trade show, in May.
With the most recent funding round, Aniai will fast-track the launch of its first dedicated manufacturing facility called Factory One in South Korea to help ensure stable production and supply chain management for Alpha Grill, aligning with its ongoing North American and global expansion efforts. Aniai’s Factory One can produce over 1,000 Alpha Grill units per year.
Aniai, based in New York City, has been piloting Alpha Grill with several leading North American hamburger brands since Q3 of 2023, targeting multiple implementations and initial rollouts within the next twelve months. And the company has already successfully deployed Alpha Grill to seven South Korean hamburger franchises, including DOWN TOWNER, BAS Burger, CJ Freshway, and Mom’s Touch. Aniai has also recently announced a new partnership with Lotteria, Teisty Burger, and Fault Burger, securing 500 Alpha Grill pre-orders for delivery beginning early in the first quarter of the year.
KEY QUOTES:
“Aniai has successfully completed a round of funding from both domestic and international investors who have recognized our innovative solutions, future potential and remarkable progress within the foodservice industry to date. This capital infusion will help our mission to improve kitchen productivity through robotics and automation while helping us ramp-up production to meet current and future demand. Additionally, Aniai plans to augment its robotic solutions by adding advanced, cloud-based, AI software to further enhance the capabilities and performance of the Alpha Grill early this year, which will benefit new and existing Aniai customers.”
– Gunpil Hwang, CEO and co-Founder of Aniai
“Aniai has demonstrated its market prowess by successfully commercializing its innovative cooking robots, thereby delivering industry-leading profitable impact to its customers. The company enhanced its value by pioneering a new market and securing substantial contracts within a brief timeframe. We look forward to seeing the positive impact that Aniai’s cooking robots will make on the U.S. Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry.”
– A representative from the lead investor InterVest
