Hyphen robotic makeup lines get investments from Cava, Chipotle

At a challenging time for the restaurant industry, such as the major chains Chipotle and reward They’re putting money behind automated production lines from startup Hyphen.

The San Jose, California-based company aims to help restaurants achieve two main goals in a highly competitive environment: fast throughput and good customer service. Co-founder and CEO Steven Klein told CNBC in an interview that the technology makes for a less chaotic and more “elegant” experience for workers and guests alike.

“We’re probably making a bowl every 10 to 15 seconds. At peak throughput, we have more capacity than they typically ask for, especially … for lunch and dinner,” Klein said.

This efficiency has brought increasing attention throughout the industry. In August 2025, Hyphen closed a Series B funding round that included up to $10 million from Cava. Chipotle said it invested a total of $25 million in Hyphen via its Cultivate Next venture fund during the third quarter of 2025.

The $25 million Series B round will help Hyphen scale its production and rollout across restaurants in the US. Its production will increase with Re:Build Manufacturing, a company based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Chipotle Hyphen McLean Located in San Jose right after an in-restaurant test. Cava will test and pilot its technology for a second production line to serve digital and take-out orders in the back of its kitchen in the future.

Hyphen technology solves the problem of speed and labor, helping to automate a part of the service process that can be repetitive and difficult to implement.

“You could have someone selling ingredients up there while the rest of this stuff happens down below,” he said of the production line, which relies on a series of robotic hands to prepare salads and bowls under a long table, out of public view.

Klein said the cost of purchasing production lines ranges between $50,000 and $100,000, and restaurant clients often get a return on investment in less than a year. He said they work 95 percent of the time, but during the rare moments they’re down, workers can jump in to complete orders, the way an escalator turns into a staircase.

Another major advantage is reduced food waste. The technology tracks ingredients “down to the gram,” Klein said.

“We portion out all the ingredients perfectly, and we’re able to help them save on food costs, or at least reduce their food costs in some way,” he said.

The idea for the company began when Klein and his co-founder Daniel Fukuba built a fully automated food truck, which they launched in Los Angeles three months before the pandemic began. They changed gears to launch Hyphen shortly thereafter.

“When the pandemic happened, we kind of had to share that in another direction. We were fortunately talking with other restaurant partners about licensing our technology to them, and we decided…it made a lot of sense to help restaurants that are already there today,” Klein said.

Technological innovation will likely continue to be a major trend in the restaurant sector after a tough year for many industry leaders. Shares of Cava and Chipotle are down roughly 50% and 40% year to date, respectively, after declines from key demographics including younger consumers. Sweetgreen, another competitor in the health and salad space, is down nearly 80% for the year.

Sweet green It sold its robotics unit Spyce to mealtime platform Wonder earlier this year for $186.4 million. Sweetgreen acquired Spyce to build its automation system Infinite Kitchens, and will continue to use technology.

Hyphen is talking to major brands and food service providers to campuses and office complexes, as it looks to not only develop the production line, but also provide the data that comes from food preparation and distribution, Klein said. The company aims to develop more software in the future, including food preparation scheduling tools for use in the back of the home.

One area not on the list, at least for now, is the fast food sector.

“We’re really trying to help people who have high mix or high customization in terms of what their guests are ordering, as well as high volume. So that’s kind of our strike zone,” he said.