Japan Tobacco operates diverse businesses across the tobacco, pharmaceutical, and processed food sectors.

Japan Tobacco

YO-KAI EXPRESS

YO-KAI EXPRESS is a tech company that innovates the future autonomous restaurant solution to serve people. The company fills the gap in the availability of food. It provides vending machines to dispense steaming-hot bowls of noodles. The machines serves freshly prepared gourmet food in seconds and it provides different choices of noodle and broth which is made using real, fresh ingredients, allowing customers to pay for the food with card or a code. The food is served with chopsticks, a spoon, and a mesh-like carrier so fingers are not burnt while taking the bowl to a nearby table. YO-KAI EXPRESS was founded on 2016 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Yo-Kai Express offers a robotic ramen vending machine and began serving ramen in malls, airports, and corporate campuses, with ramen recipes created by a Michelin-star chef. The company incorporates the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) in its robots. The frozen noodles are stored in the machine, which reheats and serves the customer within 45 seconds when ordered on the touchscreen. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in April 2020, the company introduced meal kits that ship directly to consumers on the West Coast.

Helping restaurants become more safe, more profitable, and more interesting.

Restaurant Industry Robotics

Yo-Kai Express

Pulmuone Launches Gourmet Vending Machines Across South Korea in Partnership with Yo-Kai Express

Yo-Kai Express offers a robotic ramen vending machine and began serving ramen in malls, airports, and corporate campuses, with ramen recipes created by a Michelin-star chef. The company incorporates the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) in its robots. The frozen noodles are stored in the machine, which reheats and serves the customer within 45 seconds when ordered on the touchscreen. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in April 2020, the company introduced meal kits that ship directly to consumers on the West Coast.<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/2546">In December 2020, </a>Yo-Kai announced its plans to expand its offering by introducing a mobile vending machine dubbed “Yatai.” The self-driving machine would travel along specific routes and react when hailed by a mobile device or waved down by a person. The company also introduced “Takumi,” a new ramen cooking tool for consumers to reconstitute and heat the company’s frozen mail-order ramen. It also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12779">has partnerships </a>with Japan-based TableMark, a frozen food innovator and subsidiary of Japan Tobacco, and the international ramen noodle chain Ippudo to co-develop and market new udon and ramen menu items for the robotic vending machines.Yo-Kai Express debuted Yatai at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington and at the Super Bowl party in Los Angeles, California <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8260">in February 2022, </a>with plans to deploy the unit at other locations such as universities in the future. The company tapped the Japanese market in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9344">March 2021 </a>by deploying a robotic ramen vending machine at Haneda airport, Tokyo, and expanded to include more locations (East Tokyo Station and Shibaura Parking Area) the following April. In September 2022, the company announced plans to launch seven more in Japan, expand footprint in the US, and enter the Korean market.<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12779">In September 2022, </a>the company received an undisclosed amount of funds in Series A funding from Japan Tobacco and Ippudo—via its parent company Chikaranomoto Holdings.Key competitors: None comparable (Yo-Kai Express is the only startup that offers a ramen-vending robot)

<div>
 
 Dexai Robotics developed a robotic arm known as “Alfred” that works as a flexible food-preparation assistant using artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies. Alfred is a plug-and-play solution for restaurants and can be used to prepare salads and food bowls, without any alteration to restaurants’ layouts or recipes. The robot debuted in the 2019 Web Summit in Portugal, serving  2,500+ attendees over the course of two days. The company offers its services on a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) basis, where customers are charged a flat fee for dishes the robot prepares.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 The company has partnerships with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to install the robots at 10 military locations across the US 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8680">
 (February 2022)
 </a>
 and with Boston-based Mediterranean restaurant Bonapita to deploy its robot to prepare salads and other food bowls at the latter’s restaurant 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10059">
 (April 2022).
 </a>
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In August 2022, Dexai Robotics 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12258">
 raised USD 6.7 million
 </a>
 in funding. Previously in March 2020, it raised USD 5.5 million in a seed funding round led by Hyperplane Venture Capita to expand its engineering, sales, and product teams.
 
</div>

Dexai Robotics

<div>
 
 Miso Robotics offers a range of kitchen automation solutions and a software platform that powers its robots (the latter as a standalone service). The company&rsquo;s latest product line includes second-generation burger-flipping robot &ldquo;Flippy 2,&rdquo; high-volume chicken-wing-frying robot &ldquo;Flippy Wings,&rdquo; frying and seasoning robot &ldquo;Flippy Lite,&rdquo; beverage-dispensing robot &ldquo;Sippy,&rdquo; and its cooking platform &ldquo;CookRight.&rdquo;
 
 
 - 
 Flippy 2
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6360">
 (introduced in November 2021)
 </a>
 can load, fry, and place the items in a hot holding area without assistance and can handle up to 60 baskets per hour&mdash;a 30% increase compared to its original version. This is the latest version of the original Flippy introduced in 2018, which had a price tag of USD 60,000 and was later reduced to USD 30,000 with the introduction of the upgraded Flippy ROAR (robot on a rail) that places the Flippy robot arm on an inverted rail, enabling it to move along a line of kitchen equipment.
 
 
 - Flippy Wings
 (
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6135">
 introduced in October 2021)
 </a>
 is a robotic chicken wing frying solution. It identifies the food using AI vision technology, and can pick it up, cook, and drop the food into a hot holding area. The company reports that the robot increases food production speeds by 10%&ndash;20%. Both the models are equipped with its &ldquo;AutoBin&rdquo; system&mdash;an array of customizable food-safe bins into which the food is dropped to be cooked.
 
 
 - Flippy Lite
 (introduced in March 2022) focuses on a single product that needs seasoning and finishing.
 
 
 - Sippy 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/2556">
 (announced in June 2021)
 </a>
 is a beverage dispensing robot developed in partnership with beverage dispensers manufacturer Lancer Worldwide and is equipped with a fully-automated conveyor system that moves cups along the Sippy unit to dispense drinks. Sippy directly integrates with a point-of-sale system, which triggers the beverage-making process including selecting the appropriate sized cup and pouring and sealing the drink while ensuring appropriate delivery of orders.
 
 
 - CookRight
 (launched in May 2021) is an AI and machine learning-driven cooking platform that includes a user interface tablet, two cameras, and a small computer. CookRight focuses on grill-based cooking and is capable of tracking food items on a grill for precision-level cooking and sends alerts to kitchen staff when an action is needed. The platform is also capable of managing the food serving workflow to ensure freshness and correct assembly of orders. Miso Robotics also launched &ldquo;CookRight Coffee,&rdquo; a coffee monitoring system powered by the platform in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9725">
 April 2022.
 </a>
 
 
 As of April 2022, the company had commercialized its Flippy 2 robots, while Flippy Wings, Flippy Lite, and Sippy were available for reservation. Its products are available on a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) basis&mdash;Flippy and Flippy 2 Wings are offered to customers starting at USD 3,000 per month (fees related to other products were not made available as of April 2022). The CookRight platform is offered as a standalone software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering for restaurants at a monthly subscription of USD 100.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Miso Robotics&rsquo; partners to deploy its various robotic offerings include 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8509">
 White Castle,
 </a>
 CaliBurger, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Chase Field in Phoenix, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/2541">
 Brooklyn Dumpling Shop
 </a>
 , 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9156">
 Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants
 </a>
 (a customized version dubbed &ldquo;Chippy&rdquo; to cook tortilla chips), 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6135">
 Inspire Brands-owned
 </a>
 Buffalo Wild Wings and Alliance Kitchen, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9725">
 Panera Bread,
 </a>
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9940">
 Jack in the Box,
 </a>
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10692">
 Wing Zone,
 </a>
 &nbsp; 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11139">
 Americana Restaurants,
 </a>
 and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11567">
 Wings and Rings.
 </a>
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25118">
 December 2023
 </a>
 , Miso Robotics partnered with restaurant technology company Cali Group and PopID, a developer of identity verification solutions, to launch an automated restaurant named CaliExpress in Pasadena, California. 
 
 
 The company also has a June 2022 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10929">
 partnership with Amazon Web Services
 </a>
 (AWS) to test its software powering Flippy 2 and Flippy Lite at scale, using AWS RoboMaker, a cloud-based simulation service.
 
 
 Funding and Financials
 
 
 Miso Robotics reported revenues of USD 253,000 during the year ended December 2020 (up 153% YoY) but has yet to reach profitability. The company opened its Series E funding round 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8185">
 in February 2022,
 </a>
 aiming to raise USD 40 million at a valuation of USD 500 million. The round, having raised USD 20+ million, was 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12340">
 extended in August 2022
 </a>
 to scale up its commercial manufacturing and international operations. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18705">
 May 2023
 </a>
 , Miso Robotics received a multi-million dollar investment from Ecolab, a global provider of water, hygiene, and energy technologies. The company intends to utilize the funds to support operational growth and innovation.&nbsp;
 
</div>

Miso Robotics

MiFood designs and manufactures a fully automated robotic chef for restaurants that can prepare burgers and hotdogs. The company has offices in Spain, Poland, and the US.

MiFood

Endurance is a Russian-American technology startup offering robots, lasers, and chatbots. Under its robotics solutions, it provides customer-based robotics systems such as telepresence systems, robot waiters, and truckbots.

Endurance

<div>
 
 Blendid (also known as 6d bytes) offers a smoothie-making robotic kiosk that uses machine learning and computer vision to blend fruit drinks. The system is a plug-and-play solution that can be set up on-site in food-service operations. The kiosk comes with a robotic arm, blenders, refrigerators, and dispensers to store and dispense ingredients. It can produce up to 45 drinks per hour and nine drinks simultaneously. Customers can place orders via its mobile app or Blendid tablets, and the robot generally prepares the drink in under two minutes for a price of USD 5&ndash;USD 6 (for a 12-ounce drink). Blendid&rsquo;s kiosks operate at universities, retail outlets such as 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/2529">
 Walmart,
 </a>
 and at juice maker Jamba&rsquo;s co-branded locations including Walmart stores, a shopping mall, a university,
 a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15502">
 hospital
 </a>
 and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11829">
 Love&rsquo;s Travel Stop locations
 </a>
 in California, as well as 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8519">
 two universities in Georgia.
 </a>
 
 
 As per the company, it has generated USD 149,624 in total revenue since inception, with USD 64,449 generated in FY2020 (ending October 31st). However, annual net losses have been in the USD 3-USD 4 million range during FY2018-FY2020. Salary and benefits accounted for around half of total operating expenses in FY2020, while non-payroll research and development&rsquo;s (R&amp;D&rsquo;s) share of operating expenses had declined to less than 20% from almost 50% in 2018. As of October 31st, 2020, the company had USD 2.1 million in cash on hand and an average quarterly burn rate of USD 910,000
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5410">
 .
 </a>
 
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/5410">
 In September 2021,
 </a>
 Blendid raised USD 2 million through equity crowdfunding at a valuation of almost USD 50 million. The company intended to utilize the funds to fast track its geographical expansion into Southern California and Georgia by opening in a range of locations including malls, airports, hospitals, universities, and retail outlets.
 
</div>

Blendid

Robotic solutions for restaurant services such as waiting tables, bussing tables, dishwashing, kitchen preparation, food quality check, and staff training.

Robots that pick, place, slice, and butcher fruits, vegetables, meats and other food products. Also includes companies that develop robots for picking, placement, and dispensing of processed foods (ex: cake decorating).

Robotic solutions for pizza, burger and hotdog preparation.

Robotic solutions for salad and food bowl (pasta, ramen etc) preparation.

Robotic solutions for coffee, tea, soda, and smoothie preparation.

The majority of companies in the industry use robotics technology

Some companies in the industry uses AI and ML-based robotic solutions

Yo-Kai Express

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