A startup that aimed to revolutionize pizza delivery through robotic technology has unexpectedly shut down after facing numerous technological challenges. Despite raising nearly half a billion dollars in funding, Zume struggled to realize its ambitious plans.
The Information reports that the startup, founded in 2015, initially focused on developing a mobile pizza-making machine. However, it encountered significant hurdles in bringing the concept to fruition. As a result, the company shifted its focus to sustainable packaging in 2020. Unfortunately, this change in direction did not lead to success, and the company ultimately became “insolvent.”
The demise of the startup is surprising considering the substantial investment it received, including $375 million from SoftBank, a multinational conglomerate known for its questionable investments like WeWork.
Building a mechanical pizzaiolo, it turns out, is no easy task. Bloomberg reports that the startup faced difficulties in preventing the cheese from sliding off the pizzas during the baking process in their moving trucks. These persistent problems plagued the company for years.
In early 2020, the startup had to lay off over half of its workforce before being acquired by Pivot Packaging, a compostable packaging company. The CEO of Zume, Alex Garden, attributed the layoffs to the pandemic and failed deals that fell through, as reported by Insider.
Interestingly, the robotic pizza-making industry is larger than anticipated, with several companies in Silicon Valley working on automating pizza production. One such company is Stellar Pizza, founded by former SpaceX engineers, which is developing a robot capable of making dough, rolling it out, applying various toppings, and baking the pizza.
However, the ambitions of these companies are not set on competing with high-artisanal pizzerias. Stellar Pizza CEO and co-founder Benson Tsai stated to Bloomberg earlier this year that their aim is to rival established pizza chains like Domino’s rather than focusing on traditional, freshly-made Italian Neapolitan pizza.
All in all, the shutdown of the robot pizza delivery startup highlights the challenges and complexities faced by practical robotics ventures. This serves as a reminder that even with the rapid advancement of AI, certain industries continue to present formidable obstacles to automation and innovation.