How Chef Robotics found success by turning away its original customers

A few years ago, Chef Robotics was facing potential death. “There were a lot of dark periods where I was thinking of giving up,” founder Rajat Bhageria tells TechCrunch of his six-year-old company. But friends and investors encouraged him, so he persevered. Today, Chef Robotics has not only survived, it’s one of the few food tech robotic companies that is thriving. The startup, which recently raised a $23 million Series A, has 40 employees and marquee customers like Amy’s Kitchen and Chef Bombay. Dozens of robots installed across the U.S. have made 45 million meals to date, Bhageria says. This compares to a graveyard of failed food tech robotics companies, including Chowbotics with its salad-making robot Sally; pizza delivery robot Zume; food kiosk robot Karakuri, and, more recently, agtech Small Robot Company. Bhageria says he saved his company by doing something that early-stage founders fear to do: turning away signed customers and millions of dollars in revenue. The grasping p ... Read full article.