Aniai
Category: Robotics / Embodied AI
Aniai is a kitchen automation startup that develops AI-powered robotic grills and cloud-based quality management systems to automate burger patty cooking for high-volume commercial kitchens. Aniai was founded in 2020. The company is led by Gun-pil Hwang. Based in New York, United States. Team size: 10-50. Total funding raised: $19.0M. Latest round: Pre-Series A. Key investors include InterVest, SV Investment, Capstone Partners, Korea Development Bank (KDB), Ignite Innovation, QUAD Ventures, Lotte Ventures.
- Founded
- 2020
- Headquarters
- New York, United States
- Team size
- 10-50
- Total funding
- $19.0M
Value proposition
Increases kitchen efficiency by cooking up to 200 patties per hour while ensuring 100% quality consistency through AI vision, reducing labor costs and improving worker safety.
Products and solutions
Alpha Grill: Robotic double-sided (clamshell) grill automating patty pressing, flipping, and removal (up to ~200 patties/hour)., Alpha Grill Single: May 2026 entry-level model for small kitchens (~60cm width, up to 6 patties at once / ~150 per hour)., Alpha Cloud: Cloud AI platform for real-time patty quality monitoring and predictive maintenance., Grill AI Detection System: Vision-based sensors for automated doneness/quality assurance.
Unique value
The integration of AI vision (Alpha Cloud) directly into the cooking hardware allows for a 'closed-loop' quality control system that scores every single patty's doneness in real-time without manual intervention.
Target customer
Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), global burger chains, and large-scale commercial kitchens seeking to solve labor shortages and improve consistency.
Industries served
Food & Beverage, FoodTech, Robotics, Hospitality Technology
Technology advantage
Proprietary double-sided robotic cooking technology reduces cooking time by half compared to manual grills, while the AI vision system eliminates the need for expensive on-site quality assurance teams by providing centralized, data-driven kitchen management.
How they differentiate
Aniai differentiates through its 'Alpha Grill' clamshell design, which cooks both sides of a patty simultaneously to reduce cooking time by 50%. Unlike overhead robotic arms like Miso's Flippy, Aniai's modular hardware is designed to replace existing commercial grills with a smaller footprint, making it easier to integrate into legacy kitchen lines. Its 'Alpha Cloud' vision system provides closed-loop quality control by monitoring patty doneness in real-time.
Main competitors
Miso Robotics, Chef Robotics, Botinkit, Creator
Key partnerships
Lotte GRS (Lotteria): Major domestic QSR deployment., Domestic chains: Mom's Touch, Frank Burger, Downtowner, Teisty Burger, Fault Burger., US: TFS (The Feeling Station) and The SSam in NYC; pilots with global QSR brands., Strategic investors: KDB, InterVest, SV Investment, Capstone Partners, Lotte Ventures, Ignite Innovation, QUAD Ventures., SK Networks Service: Nationwide installation and maintenance support partnership announced September 2026.
Notable customers
Lotte GRS (Lotteria), Mom's Touch (맘스터치), Frank Burger (프랭크버거), Downtowner, Teisty Burger, Fault Burger, TFS / The Feeling Station (New York), The SSam (더 쌈, NYC), Hwaposeekdang (화포식당), Songdo flagship
Major milestones
NRA Kitchen Innovation Award 2023 and 2024, Opened Brooklyn, NY showroom (2024) for US market entry, Launched Factory One manufacturing facility in South Korea, Lotte GRS / Lotteria and other major KR burger-chain deployments, Jan 2026: $4M Pre-Series A bridge from KDB (total funding $19M), May 2026: Launched Alpha Grill Single for small/compact kitchens, US commercial installs at TFS and The SSam; global QSR pilots
Growth metrics
Factory One manufacturing in Korea; 2x NRA Kitchen Innovation Award; deployed across major KR chains (Lotteria, Mom's Touch, Frank Burger, Downtowner) and NYC sites (TFS, The SSam); ~50 stores automation reported (Mar 2026); team ~33–34 (TheVC mid-2026); Alpha Grill Single launched May 2026.
Market positioning
B2B FoodTech hardware specialist focusing on high-volume Quick Service Restaurants (QSR)
Geographic focus
South Korea (HQ and domestic chains), North America (NYC/Brooklyn showroom and global pilot programs)
Patents and IP
2 patents filed/disclosed (Source: CB Insights); focuses on robotic control for automated grills and AI-based food quality detection systems.
About Gun-pil Hwang
Gunpil Hwang is the CEO and co-founder of Aniai. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from KAIST (전기 및 전자공학부; AI/semiconductor/cognitive systems), with dissertation work on a bat-inspired ultrasound 3D imaging system. During his master's he co-founded medical-device startup OBELAB. He previously worked as a post-doctoral researcher at KAIST on AI recognition and industrial robotics. At Aniai he leads AI/robotics automation for commercial kitchens via Alpha Grill.
More Robotics / Embodied AI companies
Official website: https://aniai.ai