More venture investment for robot that makes salads
Deepak Sekar, the CEO of Chowbotics, has a simple request when it comes to talking about his salad-making robot.
“I want her to be called her, not it,” Sekar said.
Sekar is as passionate about his robot, Sally, which mixes up dishes ranging from quinoa bowls to salads, as he is about healthy eating, which is what led him to start the Redwood City company in 2014.
Sally, who even has a LinkedIn profile, operates in 10 locations across the country, from the Loop Neighborhood Market in Mountain View to the WeWork site in Dallas. It — sorry, she — can mix up to 50 salads before needing replenishment, and she experiments with Indian, Mexican, Chinese and other cuisines.
A chicken caesar salad costs $3.49. The robot doesn’t have the capability to make hot food yet, but as Sekar was quick to point out, customers can microwave their finished meal.
Chowbotics is trending this week on the Crunchbase startup database after raising $11 million from investors, bringing its total to $17.3 million. The latest round was led by Colorado venture firms Techstars and the Foundry Group.
Sekar says Chowbotics will use part of the funding to expand Sally’s reper- toire beyond salads, grain bowls and pasta bowls. In the future, Sekar wants to offer smoothie bowls and breakfast bowls, too.
He also wants to beef up his sales team to put Sally in offices, hotels and convenience stores.
“We want to be a next-generation salad bar,” said Sekar, “Our whole mission is to make healthy food available anywhere, at anytime.”
For some, having a robot that prepares meals might seem weird or surprising. Sekar says he thinks that the adoption of robot-like gadgets like Amazon’s and Google’s internetconnected speakers will make people comfortable with kitchen robots.
He said he initially tried to develop a currycooking robot, because he and his wife would come home and be too tired to make a meal.
“Indian food is great, and me and my wife love it, but when you want to sell it to thousands and thousands of people, you want something very simple,” he said.
The compromise: Sekar orders his salad with quinoa, tofu, mixed vegetables and tikka masala dressing.
Deal of the week: Adaptive Insights
What it does: Adaptive Insights makes business-planning software.
What happened: Workday, a Pleasanton human resources software firm, bought Adaptive Insights for $155 million. Workday said Adaptive Insights will help increase its strength in financial planning.
Why it matters: Adaptive Insights was preparing to go public, with Workday swooping in at the last minute to buy it. The acquisition will add to Workday’s growing list of software for business customers. Headquarters: Palo Alto
Funding: $176.3 million, according to Crunchbase
Employees: More than 500, according to LinkedIn
Also trending: Hipcamp
What it does: Hipcamp helps people who want to go camping find spots on private and public land. CEO Alyssa Ravasio says it’s “the matchmakers of camping.”
What happened: Hipcamp announced that Benchmark, a venture capital firm that has invested in companies like Twitter, Uber and
Instagram, is an investor.
Why it matters: Hipcamp says it helps farmers and other landowners generate income, thereby protect and preserve open space. “Our mission is to get more people outside,” Ravasio said. “Getting outside makes you happier and healthier, and hipper.” Headquarters: San Francisco
Funding: $11.5 million Employees: 30