Robot kitchen startup Eniai said on Tuesday it raised $4 million in a pre-Series A bridge investment from Korea Development Bank (KDB).
The investment lifted Eniai's cumulative funding to $19 million. The company plans to speed its push into the U.S. market.
Eniai is accelerating commercialisation of its cooking robot, Alpha Grill, mainly in New York. The equipment has been installed and is operating at burger restaurant TFS (The Filling Station) and Korean ssam restaurant The SSam, and it is conducting pilot tests with a global fast-food company, the company said.
Eniai CEO Geon-pil Hwang (황건필) said, "The United States is the market with the greatest need for cooking automation." He added, "With the technology verified at local stores, we will use this investment to expand our U.S. business in earnest and speed efforts to secure global clients."
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr