XRobotics, a San Francisco-based company, building smart kitchen robots for pizza-making, has successfully raised a $2.5 million seed round led by FinSight Ventures and joined by SOSV, MANA Ventures, and Republic Capital.
The company’s robots can produce up to 100 pizzas per hour and significantly reduce operational costs for restaurants.
Unlike traditional food automation, XRobotics relies on computer vision and AI combined with custom patented robotics inventions that adapt to the environment and unpredictable nature of organic ingredients – from sticky cheeses and temperature-sensitive toppings to sauces that vary from batch to batch.
The technology addresses persistent labor shortages in the restaurant industry, and also delivers significant cost savings through reduced ingredient waste, particularly with high-cost items like cheese.
Cyril Ebersweiler, general partner of SOSV, says: “The $155 billion US pizza market has long been a target for automation – XRobotics breakthroughs in its ability to adapt to these variations.
“They stand out by delivering real operational performance in real kitchens, providing automation processes for customers.”
Denis Rodionov, co-founder and CEO of XRobotics, says: “Robotics is a massive trend right now, especially with the rise of AI-powered robots in the spotlight, but there are almost no systems on the market that can handle such a huge amount of unpredictable conditions.
“We’re not trying to create our own restaurant brand – we’re here to upgrade existing ones.”
Roman Sharapov, co-founder and CTO of XRobotics, says: “It took us more than three years and thousands of iterations to build a technology that controls dozens of parameters in real time and handles ingredient variability while maintaining consistent quality.”
XRobotics operates in the US and has expanded its presence to Canada and Mexico, working with top pizza chains in the industry.
The robots run daily without needing technical intervention – it’s a key breakthrough, as most restaurant robots fail under pressure from high-volume orders, especially during peak times.
The company plans to scale production capabilities, and grow partnerships with regional and global brands.
Robb Swanson, owner of Zorbaz Pizza, says: “We’ve been using the xPizza Cube for just over two years. We adopted it because hiring reliable kitchen staff is tough, and the Cube solves that while boosting product consistency and overall line efficiency.
“It saves us about $86,000 a year, straight to the bottom line.”
Chris Morales, owner of Golden Crown, says: “Peak hour surges used to mean lost sales when we were short-staffed. Last week, a 30-minute burst brought in 45 pizza orders, and one crew member backed by the xPizza Cube handled every single pie without breaking stride.
“This robot has turned labor shortages into a solved problem and quickly became the smartest piece of equipment in our kitchen.”
