Hayward, California-based and Indian American-led food prep company Chowbotics is being sold to San Francisco-based DoorDash.
The purchase of the seven-year old company founded by Deepak Sekar promises to help DoorDash expand its fresh meal offerings, according to reports.
Chowbotics makes a refrigerator-sized robot called Sally that can store up to 22 prepared ingredients. Sally uses those ingredients to make up to 65 salads, bowls and other meals at a time, a Feb. 11 Associated Press report said.
Prior to this year, Chowbotics had sold around 125 of its $35,000 robots, mostly to universities, medical centers and grocery stores. But the company said sales jumped during the pandemic as customers looked for touch-free ways to dispense food, the AP report said.