DoorDash announced an acquisition on Monday. If we didn’t know better, we’d predict M&A geared toward delivery consolidation or cloud kitchen integration.
But no. This story is about salad robots. DoorDash acquired Chowbotics, a Bay Area startup that sells a refrigerator-sized robotic salad-maker on wheels. The airtight, contained design naturally lends itself to contactless food preparation, which is in demand these days.
Salad synergy™
- The companies say the merger will accelerate Chowbotics’ product development and “market presence.”
- DoorDash could offer these machines to its merchants, helping them expand menus and potential customer bases without too much additional overhead.
Bottom line: The hype for silicon chefs probably crested in 2018, when SoftBank invested $375 million in Zume Pizza. That robo-pizza-making bet “went really bad really fast,” per Businessweek.
Chowbotics, by comparison, raised ~$21 million total. While other food/drink-prep robotics companies may have bitten off more than they could chew, Chowbotics has stayed focused on a solvable use case.
February 10, 2021 at 11:11PM
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DoorDash Acquires Salad Robotics Startup Chowbotics - Morning Brew
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salad
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