Chowbotics

Chowbotics was a food robotics company founded in 2014 by Deepak Sekar, a prolific inventor with a background in electrical and computer engineering and previous roles at SanDisk and Rambus. The idea for the company reportedly stemmed from Sekar's personal desire to automate the process of making his own meals at home. Headquartered in Hayward, California, Chowbotics raised a total of $21.3 million over several funding rounds from investors including Techstars and Foundry.

The company's core product was "Sally," a fresh food robot designed to assemble customizable meals. Occupying a small 3'x3' footprint, this vending machine-style robot could hold up to 22 refrigerated, airtight ingredient canisters. Customers could use a touchscreen interface to create their own meals or choose from pre-programmed recipes, with the robot dispensing the selected ingredients into a bowl in under 90 seconds. Initially focused on salads, Sally's offerings expanded to include grain bowls, poke bowls, parfaits, cereals, and various snacks. This addressed a market need for safe, contactless, and convenient access to fresh food, particularly in locations like hospitals, universities, grocery stores, and corporate offices. The business model involved selling the Sally robot, which cost around $35,000, to food service providers and other businesses, enabling them to offer fresh meals 24/7 without significant labor costs. The company also established an off-premise kitchen business unit to manage ingredient preparation and delivery for clients.

In February 2021, DoorDash acquired Chowbotics for an undisclosed amount, aiming to integrate the robotic technology into its merchant services and help restaurants expand their menus and reach new markets. Despite deploying over 100 robots and forming partnerships with brands like Saladworks and Kellogg's, the venture did not meet DoorDash's internal benchmarks. Consequently, DoorDash announced the shutdown of the Chowbotics business, with operations ceasing on August 31, 2022. Keywords: food robotics, automated food kiosk, salad robot, fresh food vending, foodservice automation, Sally the robot, robotic food preparation, contactless food service, automated meal assembly, food tech, smart vending machine, custom meal robot, automated restaurant, Deepak Sekar, DoorDash, hospitality robotics, office foodservice solutions, university dining, hospital food service, grocery store technology