Aniai Expands Automated Grilling Robots Across U.S. Restaurants and Enterprise Partnerships, as Total Funding Reaches $19 Million

The core product, Alpha Grill, is an automated grilling system designed for high-volume kitchens. Originally built for burger cooking, the system has evolved into a versatile grill-station platform capable of preparing a wide range of menu items. Alpha Grill cooks burgers, chicken, steak, pork, salmon, eggs, pancakes, and more in under two minutes with consistent results. Using precise temperature control, automated pressure, and built-in sensors that continuously adjust cooking in real time, the system can produce 200+ food items per hour across proteins, cooking up to eight items simultaneously.

Alpha Grill also includes a robotic built-in spatula for automatic offloading, auto-cleaning between batches, and a touchscreen interface for pre-programmed recipes. The grill can operate in multiple modes, allowing restaurants to adapt the system to their existing workflows while maintaining menu flexibility.

Enterprise Collaboration and Live U.S. Deployments

Aniai has developed Alpha Grill in close collaboration with enterprise QSR brands through their R&D and innovation centers, where new kitchen technologies are evaluated against strict quality and operational standards. Beyond innovation centers, Alpha Grill is already operating in live U.S. restaurant environments, including The Filling Station and The SSam in New York, where it is used during daily service.

For operators, Alpha Grill delivers value through labor and time savings at the grill station. Faster and more consistent cooking supports higher throughput during peak hours, improving service speed and order flow with a positive downstream impact on revenue. For franchise and multi-unit brands, consistency at scale is especially important, with several operators' viewing stable grill performance as a factor in expanding more confidently with Alpha Grill.

Global Experience, U.S.-Led Expansion

While headquartered in the United States, Aniai has already seen strong adoption of Alpha Grill in Asia, where major franchise brands including Lotteria, Mom's Touch, and Frank Burger use the automated grill in high-volume environments. The company will continue to grow its Asian footprint while prioritizing expansion in the U.S.

"Operators in the U.S. continue to face significant operational challenges in their kitchens, and this is where we see the strongest demand for automation," said Gunpil Hwang, CEO of Aniai. "We are building technology that works in real kitchens, during real rush hours, and scales across multi-unit operations. That is where we are investing most of our time, talent, and resources."

Aniai recently raised $4 million from Korea Development Bank (KDB), and previously, from leading venture firms like InterVest, SV Investment, Capstone Partners, Ignite Innovation, and Lotte Ventures. This brings  Aniai's total funding to $19 million. The capital will support continued U.S. expansion, including investments in supply chain readiness and on-the-ground commercial and technical support. 

As Aniai continues to expand its U.S. presence, the company plans to deepen partnerships with enterprise restaurant brands and make its live installations more accessible to operators, investors, and industry partners who want to see automated cooking in action.

About Aniai: Founded in 2020, Aniai is a kitchen robotics company building automated equipment for commercial kitchens. The company developed Alpha Grill, a scalable automated grilling system now deployed in more than 50 kitchens globally and has cooked over 3 million burger patties and food items. Headquartered in New York with R&D operations in Seoul, South Korea, Aniai helps restaurant operators address labor, consistency, and efficiency challenges while supporting reliable, high-quality food preparation at scale. For more information visit www.aniai.ai | LinkedIn Aniai

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SOURCE Aniai