Aniai, Robot kitchen startup in Korea, announced on Feb. 21 that it has raised $3 million (KRW 4 billion) in seed funding from Capstone Partners, Lotte Ventures and others. 

“This is the largest single round of seed funding for a food-tech robotics startup,” said a company source at Aniai, adding, “Aniai, an indigenous Korean company, has attracted an unusually large amount of funding due to its potential in the U.S. market, the home of the hamburger and an industry that has developed early on.” 

Aniai is a three-year-old startup that has successfully commercialized an AI robot that grills hamburger patties. Korean handmade burger franchise ‘Kreizburger’ has been using Eniai’s hamburger patty cooking robot ‘Alpha Grill’ since 2022. The company is also conducting joint research and development with famous franchise companies to realize kitchen automation.

The hamburger patty cooking robot, Alpha Grill, simultaneously cooks both sides of the patty according to the pre-entered temperature and thickness. It takes about 1 minute for Alpha Grill to cook both sides of a hamburger patty. With a capacity of up to 200 patties per hour, the robot can easily fulfill orders during the restaurant’s busiest times. The Alpha Grill also maintains consistent flavor and quality by using a camera with vision sensors to check the shape and doneness of the patties.

In addition to reducing the physical strain on employees by having a robot take over repetitive tasks in a hot kitchen, it is also a good alternative for owners who are short-staffed due to the lack of human labor.

Based on this investment, Aniai plans to enter the U.S., the home of the 150 trillion-won hamburger industry, in earnest. In cooperation with the Korea International Trade Association and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in New York City, the company has secured a demonstration opportunity at Abe’s Corner restaurant, and will participate in the National Restaurant Association Show, the world’s largest restaurant trade show, in Chicago this May to meet with key stakeholders in the U.S. restaurant industry to develop sales.

“We are pleased to be recognized for our marketability and growth potential in the foodtech industry despite the harsh investment climate,” said Hwang Gun-pil, CEO of Aniai. “We will build on our business experience with major Korean hamburger franchises to successfully enter the US market.”