Miso Robotics

Miso Robotics has created a robotic kitchen assistant.

Its Artificial-Intelligence-enabled robot is capable of preparing food in commercial kitchens.

Despite its fun name (“Flippy"), this device is packed with powerful technology. It uses computer and thermal vision to cook food perfectly and consistently. For example, it can monitor the “doneness” of a dozen burgers on a grill at once.

By implementing Flippy robots into their kitchens, companies can reduce labor expenses by more than 65%, and increase the quantity of food they can prepare by 23%.

This company’s robot can also reduce human contact in the kitchen. As such, Miso Robotics has received increased interest in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Following a successful pilot test at a CaliBurger restaurant, the franchise signed an $11 million purchase order to implement two Flippy robots at each of its 50 locations.

Miso Robotics is raising capital to fulfill this order and continue development on its latest robot, “Flippy 2.0.”

Within the $273 billion global quick-service restaurant industry, companies must deal with increasingly tight margins. This is due to rising wages and a shortage of qualified workers.

Miso Robotics’ device wasn’t designed to replace employees. Rather, the robot allows employees to focus on value-added tasks, and automates the more mundane, less desirable jobs (for instance, working the fryer).

Flippy was designed to work at a grill or fryer station. It can recognize and monitor items, and can automatically switch cooking tools and clean equipment.

In addition to its granted patent, Miso Robotics has 12 patents pending for its robot. Each robot retails for $25,000, and customers pay $1,000 per month for support and machine software updates.

Miso Robotics has raised more than $14 million from venture capitalists including Wavemaker and MAG Ventures. It’s also raised funds from Levy Restaurants and CaliGroup.

Since it was first tested in 2018, Flippy has cooked more than 40,000 pounds of fried food and 9,000 burgers. This food was prepared across baseball stadiums for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks, and two CaliBurger locations.

In October 2019, the first CaliBurger 2.0 location opened in Fort Myers, Florida, with its reinvented kitchen that includes two Flippy robots working alongside one chef.

Flippy 2.0 will be 50% less expensive than the original Flippy, and will require zero real estate “footprint” in kitchens.

Team Background

Buck Jordan - Co-Founder & CEO

Buck founded Miso Robotics in 2016. In addition to his role with this company, he is a partner at Wavemaker Partners, a VC fund, and founded Wavemaker Labs, a corporate venture studio in 2016.

Before these roles, he was Managing Partner at Canyon Creek Capital, an early-stage venture fund.

He's spent his entire career as an early-stage venture investor, focusing on companies in the robotics, digital media, and consumer products markets.

Buck earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Indiana University and an MBA from UCLA.

Ryan Sinnet - Co-Founder & CTO

Ryan has spent his career developing novel control methods for robotic systems.

As a Ph.D. student, he was awarded an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship based on his proposal to bridge gaps between human and robotic walking. During his studies, he spent time at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, teaching the Valkyrie robot to walk.

Ryan then joined eSolar, where he was responsible for the control algorithms and software that ensured safe operation of the company’s solar power plants.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2007 and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

John Miller - Co-Founder & Advisor

John is Chairman and CEO of Cali Group, a holding company focused on using technology to transform the restaurant and retail industries.

Before that, he was the second employee at Arrowhead (Nasdaq: ARWR), a pharmaceutical company with a $3 billion market cap. While there, he was instrumental in the growth of the company’s electronics business unit.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Redlands and a Law degree from Stanford.

Rob Anderson - Co-Founder & Head of Mechanical Engineering

Before Miso Robotics, Rob worked at Microsoft, where he supported the international development of the Surface tablet lines.

He also worked for SpaceX, where he helped develop internal tools to understand how long rocket components last after a launch.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

Co-Investors

Levy Restaurants

A hospitality company that runs restaurants and vending machines in entertainment and sporting venues.

Wavemaker Partners

An early-stage venture capital firm invested in technology-related startups. Has invested in more than 30 companies that have achieved successful “exits.”

MAG Ventures

A VC firm investing in early-stage startups that focus on technology and life sciences.