Appetronix Raises $6M to Scale Brand-Backed Robotic Kitchens

Appetronix, a Toronto-based robotics kitchen startup, has raised a $6M seed-plus round led by Donatos Pizza founder Jim Grote, the Grote family, and AlleyCorp, bringing total funding to $10M. The company recently launched its first fully automated pizza kitchen with Donatos at Columbus International Airport, where customers can order and watch their pizzas being prepared, baked, sliced, and boxed by the system.

Rather than retrofitting existing restaurant kitchens, Appetronix designs food production from scratch—drawing more inspiration from factory automation than traditional food prep. Founder Nipun Sharma argues that previous attempts at kitchen automation failed because they focused on replacing human motions rather than redesigning workflows for efficiency and reliability.

The Appetronix kitchens run on Viam’s AI and automation platform, providing real-time quality checks, predictive maintenance, and automated inventory management. Credit: Appetronix

Appetronix is now expanding beyond pizza to automated kitchens that prepare Asian noodle bowls, burrito bowls, and baked goods for airports, hospitals, universities, entertainment venues, and offices. The company operates on a revenue-sharing model with brand partners and site operators rather than selling equipment outright.

Partnerships are central to its strategy: customers don’t buy food from “a robot,” Sharma said—they buy it from trusted restaurant brands. With strong early demand and inbound interest from travel hubs, theme parks, and large retail chains, Appetronix plans to scale production and manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand for 24/7, consistent, brand-backed automated foodservice.