Physical AI for the food industry
Chef Robotics brings intelligent, adaptable automation to food preparation. Scale meal assembly with robots built for the real world.
Customers have seen:
- 2-3x output
- 88%↓ giveaway
- 60%↑ labor productivity
- 30%↑ consistency
The food labor crisis
Food companies are grappling with an unprecedented labor shortage. Hiring and retaining workers is more challenging than ever, putting the US, Canada, and Europe at risk of nationwide food shortages.
Leveraging automation as a form of labor is necessary to meet demand.
- 1.137 M unfilled jobs in US food manufacturing
- 3.1 M unfilled jobs by 2030
- 300% annual staff turnover rate
Traditional automation wasn’t built for the complexity of food
Many of our customers have tried traditional automation (multi-head dispensers, vibratory feeders, and volumetric fill dispensers) before turning to Chef.
These systems struggle with the natural variability of food ingredients, frequent changeovers, and high-mix production, leaving companies no choice but to rely on manual labor.
We believe this work shouldn’t have to be done by hand.
Physical AI makes robots intelligent enough to handle food
ChefOS, our physical AI operating system, enables Chef robots to manipulate real food in all its natural variability.
Ingredient in 3D
- Mixed veggies
- Pulled meat
- Leafy greens
- Discrete items
Drag the image and select different ingredients
Chef’s AI-enabled robots are as flexible as workers
Our meal assembly robots work with:
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- Your ingredients
- Your portion sizes
- Your trays, burritos, wraps, and pizza bases
- Your placement styles
- Your conveyors
Chef’s robotic module C-001748 is NSF-certified
Chef’s robotic module C-001748 is certified under “NSF/ANSI 169 – Special Purpose Food Equipment and Devices,” a standard for commercial food equipment. This certification confirms that the robot meets strict requirements for food safety and cleanability.
Robots in production
Chef robots are deployed at more than a dozen customer facilities across the US, Canada, and Europe.
- 116,534,945 servings in production
Meet our customers
Project Open Hand
The San Francisco-based nonprofit uses Chef robots powered by physical AI to address staff shortages and deliver consistent, medically tailored meals to people in need. Read their story
Cafe Spice
Using Chef’s robots, Cafe Spice was able to boost output by 2-3x, ease labor shortage constraints, and lower food giveaway by 67%. Read their story
Amy’s Kitchen
Beyond improving consistency, the company increased labor productivity by 17% and reduced food giveaway by 4%. Read their story
Chef robots adapt to your industry
- Frozen prepared meals
- Fresh prepared meals
- Co-manufacturing
- D2C meal delivery
- Nonprofits
- Medically tailored meals
- Meat packing
- Airline catering
- Foodservice
Robotics-as-a-service (RaaS)
With Chef’s RaaS business model, food manufacturers can lease our robots without a large upfront capital expense and start saving in year one.
RaaS includes:
- Core hardware and software
- Latest AI features (SW updates, HW upgrades)
- End-to-end support (field service, maintenance, parts replacement)
- 24/7 performance monitoring and uptime
- Customer success manager (onboarding, training, support)
In the news
- These Robots Are Making Meals for a Nonprofit in San Francisco's Tenderloin
- Chef Introduces Deposit Assist Capability for More Precise Deposits into Small Compartments and Inserts
- Chef Robotics Advances Bi-Manual Physical AI System for Prep Table Food Assembly Powered by a Food Foundation Model
- Chef Robotics Successfully Deploys Physical AI in Food Manufacturing
- Robots for America Launches National Coalition to Advance U.S. Robotics Deployment Policy
- Chef Robotics Expands into Component Assembly for CPG Manufacturing
Get started with flexible automation for your production lines