Investors Pour $12M Into Robotic Grill Maker

In 2020, the robotic kitchen solution manufacturer Aniai was born. Last year, it opened its New York City headquarters. Now, the maker is gearing up for more growth.

This week, Aniai closed a $12 million pre-Series A funding round, led by the South Korean venture capital firm InterVest. The round also includes new investors SV Investment and U.K.-based Ignite Innovation, as well as Capstone Partners—an existing investor. This influx brings Aniai’s total funding to date to $15 million.

Aniai’s flagship product, a robotic hamburger-cooking solution called the Alpha Grill, was one of 20 Kitchen Innovations recipients in 2023. Since Q3 of last year, several North American hamburger brands have piloted the product, which also is active in seven South Korean hamburger franchises, according to the company. The company recently announced partnerships with Lotteria, Teisty Burger and Fault Burger, securing 500 Alpha Grill pre-orders, with deliveries set to start this quarter.

Gunpil Hwang, CEO and co-founder of Aniai, says the fresh capital infusion will help the maker’s mission: “to improve kitchen productivity through robotics and automation.” It also will allow the company to ramp-up production by fast-tracking its launch of a dedicated manufacturing facility, called Factory One, in South Korea. Aniai’s Factory One will have the capacity to produce over 1,000 Alpha Grill units per year.

Further, the manufacturer shares that it plans to debut a cloud-based, AI software for the Alpha Grill at this May’s National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago.