Chef Robotics, creators of AI-enabled robotic systems for meal assembly, has raised $43.1 million in a new Series A funding round that includes $20.6 million in equity and $22.5 million in equipment financing debt.
The equity round was led by Avataar Ventures and included investments from Construct Capital, Bloomberg Beta, Promus Ventures, MFV Partners, Interwoven Ventures, HCVC, MaC Venture Capital, Red and Blue Ventures, Tau Partners, Alumni Ventures, Siddhi Capital, and BOLD Capital Partners.
The fresh equity funds raised will be used to accelerate the production deployments of its robotic systems, providing momentum for the real-world AI data engine flywheel that the company credits for its rapid growth rate of meals produced.
Additionally, this infusion of funds will enable Chef to scale its go-to-market team and efforts. The funding round equips Chef to further invest in non-engineering functions like sales and marketing to scale its deployments.
The financial debt will be used to cover the financing of Chef’s robotic systems for Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) so Chef’s customers don’t have to front CapEx for their robots.
The new funding brings Chef’s total capital raised to $65.6 million which consists of $38.8 million in equity and $26.75 million in equipment financing, all with Silicon Valley Bank, a Division of First Citizens Bank.
“Robotics is really having a moment right now. The innovations in AI have unlocked the potential of Embodied AI for robotics. We believe we’re in the pole position to scale given all the real-world production training data we already have,” said Rajat Bhageria, Founder and CEO of Chef Robotics.
“AI in the physical world is happening right now with robotics. Food is one of the largest markets in the world. Industrial AI is already winning, and food packaging automation is quietly transforming how we get our meals. Chef has quickly cemented its standing as the industry leader in AI-enabled robotics for meal assembly at over 44M servings produced and counting. We look forward to this exciting partnership with Chef Robotics as they expand their global leadership,” said Mohan Kumar, Founder and Managing Partner of Avataar Ventures.
Founded in 2019 by Rajat Bhageria, Chef Robotics offers a new way for food companies to overcome their labor shortage and increase production volume using AI-enabled robots that mimic the flexibility of humans. Chef allows companies to maximize revenue by meeting demand while keeping the food supply chain onshore.
With over 44 million servings made in production, Chef Robotics leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand.
Chef Robotics have deployed its robot at leading brands such as Amy’s Kitchen, Sunbasket, Chef Bombay, and Cafe Spice.
Chef currently serves customers in the U.S. and Canada, with plans to expand to the U.K. market in 2025.
