Pizza joints across the country may soon have a new secret weapon in their kitchens.
XRobotics, a San Francisco startup, has released a robot that sits on the counter and assembles pizzas at remarkable speed. The xPizza Cube, no bigger than a washing machine, applies sauce, cheese, and pepperoni with the help of machine learning.
Working as fast as one hundred pizzas an hour, this invention aims to save staff from the repetitive grind of prepping each pie individually. Co-founder Denis Rodionov says the robot can cover nearly every pizza style, thanks to its adjustable design for classic, Chicago, or Detroit varieties.
Previously, companies that tried to bring robotics to pizza shops struggled to find their fit. Some, like Zume, wanted to reinvent how pizza was made and delivered, raising hundreds of millions before eventually folding. XRobotics took a different approach entirely.
The Quest for a Pizza Robot That Fits In
Rodionov points out that the real breakthrough was to supplement staff instead of replacing them. Instead of forcing big changes, the robot plugs into kitchens that already exist, taking over the mind-numbing job of laying out each slice of pepperoni while freeing up people for everything else.
Leasing costs are around one thousand three hundred dollars a month for three years, a figure the team hopes is manageable for both family businesses and big chain stores. The compact size makes it less of a disruption and more of an extra set of hands.
XRobotics did not find instant success. Their original machines were huge, featured dozens of toppings, and simply did not fit most restaurants, repeating a pattern seen with earlier competitors. Rodionov remembers the pivot well, describing how a daunting trial made the team realize they needed to go smaller and more efficient.
By 2023, the company had slimmed down its robot and found momentum with its new design.
They will not say exactly how many customers they serve, but confirm their machines crank out at least twenty five thousand pizzas every month. A recent cash infusion of two and a half million dollars from investors will go toward building even more robots and installing them in kitchens.
The pizza robot is only the beginning. Rodionov sees enormous potential, given that there are over seventy three thousand pizzerias in the country. Next up are plans to expand into Mexico and Canada with their restaurant friendly robots.
Rodionov’s passion for pizza runs deep. He and his co-founder have tested nearly every pizza in San Francisco, with trips to New York and Chicago for good measure, but Detroit’s square, cheese crowned pies remain his favorite, as stories like robotics capability with pollen acquisition continue to emerge.
