Zume Inc., a former robot pizza business that once epitomized the extravagance of pre-pandemic venture investing, has reportedly shut down its operations, as confirmed by two individuals with knowledge of the matter.
Zume Inc., which had previously raised approximately $450 million from investors including SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund, has reportedly enlisted the assistance of restructuring firm Sherwood Partners to handle the sale of its assets, according to one of the individuals familiar with the situation.
Zume did not respond to requests for comment.
Established in 2015, Zume Inc. joined a growing list of companies aiming to revolutionize the pizza-making process with the use of robots. However, despite their ambitions, the concept failed to gain traction. The technology faced numerous technical hurdles, including the difficulty of preventing melted cheese from sliding off the pizzas as they baked inside moving trucks.
In January 2020, Zume Inc. underwent a substantial downsizing, resulting in a reduction of over half of its employees. Simultaneously, the company pivoted its focus to incorporate compostable packaging, leveraging the expertise of Pivot Packaging, a southern California company that Zume had acquired.
