Robotaxis Roll Out in Calif. & Texas
Infinite Kitchen drives 10% bump, Chipotle double tech investment, Amazon goes small
Today we’ve got good news on all the robotic fronts, except for their literary ambitions. Read on!
Waymo OKed to Expand in CA, Cruise Heads to TX
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved Waymo’s expansion to a large swath of urban California, allowing paid rides at up of 65 miles per hour and on freeways. In the Bay, they can serve roughly the 101 and 280 corridor between SF and Sunnyvale; in SoCal, it’ll run from East LA to the Pacific, bounded by the Santa Monica mountains on the north and roughly the 91 on the south. While the CPUC received 81 letters in support of the expansion, a number of local politicos are arguing that their cities should get to regulate the robotaxis. Waymo says it’ll take an “incremental approach” to introducing LA service, and has “no immediate plans” to expand service to the SF Peninsula. Meanwhile, GM’s Cruise is hoping to resume its robotaxi service post-accident, with a new focus on regulation-averse Texas.


With the AV revolution in full swing, we’re excited to bring Waymo to Curbivore, this March 28 & 29. See the vehicles, hear from company leaders, and also hear from other key stakeholders like LA Deputy Mayor of Infrastructure Randall Winston, plus Uber’s Global Head of Policy, Cities & Sustainability, Shin-Pei Tsay. OttOmate readers can register for just $20 with code Otto20, or for free if you subscribe to OttOmate Pro.
Automation Drives 10% Bump to Sales for Sweetgreen
Salad-maker Sweetgreen released its 2023 financial results, with revenue up 24% to $584 million, and its net loss slimming to $113.4 million. But the company is particulalry excited about the continued deployment of its Infinite Kitchen robotic makeline. While each build-out reportedly costs $450,000 to $500,000, the company says it’s seen the machines bump average ticket amounts by over 10%.
Chipotle Doubles Cultivate Next Funding to $100M
If there’s one brand that’s neck and neck with Sweetgreen in pushing forward the automation revolution, its Chipotle. The Orange County, CA-based chain introduced its Cultivate Next venture arm in 2022, and now it’s adding another $50 million in funding to the division. Chipotle notes the additional funds, which double its total AUM, will go towards new investments as the chain grows towards 7,000 locations. Current investments include Local Line, GreenField Robotics, Nitricity, Vebu, Hyphen, Meati and Zero Acre Farms.
Amazon Launches Small-Format Urban Grocery Stores
Amazon-owned Whole Foods is opening a new format: Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, with the fist location in New York City’s Upper East Side. Each store will be about 7,000 to 14,000 square feet, compared to the 40k a regular WF occupies. Whole Foods has experimented with new formats before, trialing smaller shops in NYC back in 2019, and tinkering with a discount “365 by Whole Foods Market” (aka “Half Foods”) concept for a few years. With five leases signed in NYC, we might expect to see Amazon experiment with grab-and-go frictionless checkout, or automated delivery tech, to make this concept work.
AI Can Cook, Not Write
Last week we ran an AI-written review of Steve Ells’ new robotic restaurant, Kernel. Did you spot any of the less-than-human issues with the text? For starters, its 3.5 star review doesn’t seem to match up with the glowing praise it heaped on the restaurant. More damingly, the LLM referenced both a beet burger and a lentil burger, neither of which exist (its veggie burger’s primary ingredient is sweet potato.) We will give it points for the pseudonym it donned. When pressed, the computer noted:
The pseudonym "Jules M. Forkner" playfully combines a sense of sophistication with a touch of lightheartedness, suitable for a smart, casual food critic. "Jules" is a name that carries a timeless and classic feel, perhaps nodding to the famous author Jules Verne, invoking a sense of adventure and exploration, which aligns well with trying innovative food concepts. The "M." adds an air of mystery or formality to the name. "Forkner" is a whimsical take on "fork," an essential tool of any food critic, and "corner," which might subtly suggest that this critic has a particular corner or niche in the food world—perhaps the intersection of technology and cuisine. The name aims to balance professionalism with approachability, reflecting the style and tone of the review.
In Other News
AI & voice recognition supplier Presto about to disappear-o. Kodiak partners with Martin Brower to autonomously transport freight for QSRs. Toyota’s Punyo robot is deliberately soft and squishy, so it can manipulate objects with its whole body. Nuro picks Arm for its next delivery AV. Figure closes $2.6B post-money funding round, with cash from Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon, Nvidia, Intel Capital and more.