• Piestro, a pizza-making robot developer, has opened a Series A equity crowdfunding round, targeting to raise USD 20 million. 

<ul><li>The company has so far raised USD 6.4 million in total—entirely through two crowdfunding campaigns. Today’s round values the company at USD 80 million (up from USD 12 million at the time of its previous round that closed in October 2021). </ul>

• The company intends to utilize the funds to expand its food and robotics team and to increase production to meet rising demand.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: Raising equity through crowdfunding is becoming increasingly popular in the restaurant industry robotics space. Startups that recently closed such campaigns include robotic boba tea bar developer Bobacino (October 2021), smoothie-making robotic kiosk developer Blendid ( September 2021), and pasta-making robot developer DaVinci Kitchen (July 2021). </ul>