Hyphen Secures $25M, Cava Among Investors

Hyphen has raised $25 million to speed the rollout of its Automated Makeline across the U.S. Mediterranean fast-casual brand Cava marks one of the newest investors.

“We are galvanized by this investment to scale our manufacturing, support our growing customer base and continue innovating as we build the future of foodservice,” says Stephen Klein, co‑founder and CEO of Hyphen, in the release.

Brett Schulman, co‑founder and CEO of Cava, says the brand continues to grow and looks forward to investing in technology that enhances, not replaces, the human experience. “By piloting Hyphen’s automated digital makeline, we have the opportunity to increase order accuracy and speed during peak digital hours, while reducing complexity for our team members,” Schulman says.

Cava has set a goal to reach the milestone of at least 1,000 restaurants by 2032. In its Q2/25 report, it listed nearly 400 total restaurants, a 16.7% increase in total stores year over year.

Chipotle Mexican Grill also has invested in Hyphen. It was one of the brand’s first two investments from its Cultivate Next venture fund in 2022.

Ramping Up

Hyphen says it will scale production with U.S.-based Re:Build Manufacturing. To ensure reliable nationwide installs and ongoing support, Hyphen selected Ricoh USA as its field service partner. Ricoh has a network of 15,000-plus technicians.