courtesy of Zume Pizza
Talk about a pizza delivery.
SoftBank Vision Fund is considering a $500 million to $750 million investment in Zume, a robotic pizza startup based in Silicon Valley, according to a Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources.
The secretive firm, which reportedly has begun licensing its technology to other restaurants, owns a patent for delivery trucks equipped with robots capable of cooking food during a drive so it arrives fresh. The ovens are operated via a remote cloud signal. Zume has also developed technology to manage perishable supply-chain logistics.
The broader implications for the crowded food-delivery business has the attention of SoftBank, which earlier this year led a $535 million funding round into meal-delivery app DoorDash. Additionally, SoftBank has a 15% stake in UberEats, Uber's meal-delivery service. Zume conceivably could partner with Uber and DoorDash. Yum! Brands' (YUM) unit Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza (DPZ) are also experimenting with robots.
Zume declined comment on the Bloomberg report.
SoftBank did not immediately reply to an email message seeking comment.
Aside from raising its profile considerably, a mega-round of funding would significantly inflate Zume's valuation. The company, which has a handful of trucks operating out of its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, raised a $48 million Series B funding round in October 2017, and $23 million in Series A funding in December 2016.
In other news regarding Softbank, Bloomberg says it had been in talks with Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk about investing in the electric-car maker.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
