Eyes on the fries

Tech firm Agot aims to monitor food orders

A tech startup is wooing fast-food restaurants with surveillance systems that it claims will make sure workers fill orders accurately.

Pittsburgh, Pa.-based Agot AI, which has installed its overhead cameras in a number of undisclosed chain restaurants, issues real-time correction alerts to line workers, according to its Web site.

The startup didn’t specifically say whether, for example, its systems can verify that a kitchen worker did, in fact, hold the mayo as requested.

Nevertheless, the company said its cameras can ensure “items are ingredient accurate and bagged correctly,” according to Agot’s Web site. The cameras likewise “monitor kitchen and drive-thru events to improve speed of service,” the company said.

Agot AI just secured $10 million in seed funding from heavy hitters including The Kitchen Fund, which is an investor in quick-service salad chain darling Sweetgreen; and Continental Grain, which invested in Panera Bread and Keurig DrPepper, according to CNBC.

Founded in 2019, Agot had previously secured $50,000, according to Pitchbook. Now, it says business is booming because of the pandemic, which has driven explosive demand for drive-thru windows. McDonald’s says it generated 70 percent of its

sales via its drive-thrus last year.

“We see that across the [quick-service restaurant] industry, order accuracy is becoming an increasingly large problem as a result of the shift to drive-thru,” Chief Executive Evan DeSantola told CNBC. “What was once a smaller pain point, when the accuracy rates haven’t gotten much better, is now a much larger pain point.”

Demand for technology that reduces restaurants’ reliance on labor, including foodordering kiosks, has also soared during the pandemic. Agot AI said its technology works similarly to that in selfdriving vehicles, but didn’t elaborate.

In 2019, McDonald’s acquired two AI companies. Dynamic Yield’s software recommends orders based on the weather and how busy the kitchen is, while the startup Apprente uses automation to take drive-thru orders.

Agot did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hold the mistakes A Pittsburghbased startup that uses cameras to check the work of chain restaurant order-fillers has received $10 million in seed funding and says business is booming.