Piestro Maxes Out First Raise and Announces New Partnership with Kiwibot to Bring Automated Artisan Pizzas Closer to Home

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Piestro, the start-up automating artisan pizza creation, announced it is partnering with Kiwibot, the robotics company providing affordable and accessible delivery service, to offer consumers a touchless, contactless pizza delivery experience. The partnership comes following a successful campaign raise on crowdfunding platform StartEngine, where Piestro had an oversubscription of investor interest. As a result, Piestro will open a second funding campaign on StartEngine to give more everyday investors an opportunity to bring fresh, quality pizza to the masses.

With the onset of the pandemic, came an increasing concern for greater health and safety measures across restaurants and an accelerated need to shift to a takeout and delivery model for operators. In the 'new normal' consumers are spending more and more time at home, turning to quick access food options with minimal human contact. Launching in July, Piestro drove investor interest for its ability to automate the pizza cooking process to 3 minutes, and a standalone pizzeria model that would make artisan quality pies available in public spaces closer to where consumers live – like apartment complex lobbies. With just a press of a button, consumers are able to watch a pizza created in front of their eyes, with fresh ingredients cooked to consistent perfection.

Interest in a solution that would allow local and regional pizzeria operators to expand their takeout reach at a fraction of the cost and provide an entry point for new operators looking to capitalize on the $46.3B U.S. pizza market, surged. Piestro had an oversubscription of interest, in record time. With skyrocketing demand, a second campaign showcasing an evolved product roadmap since the start-up launched kicks off today.

Piestro is partnering with Kiwibot to deliver an improved contactless experience.  Now, the final Piestro automated pizzeria will come integrated with a dispensing mechanism for Kiwibot, allowing for contactless delivery, further limiting the potential for customer exposure to harmful pathogens. Through an in-app order and purchase, customers can select their preferred pizza design. The order is registered with Kiwibot and a bot is deployed to a Piestro location, where the pizza has been made through automation and timed to dispense upon arrive for maximum freshness and quality. Kiwibot picks up the pizza and delivers directly to the consumers, creating a fully contactless experience from the time your pizza is made, to the moment in hand.

"This is such an exciting partnership for us," said Massimo De Marco, CEO of Piestro. "The demand we saw was so high to bring Piestro to market and we knew it was the right time to really double down on our product roadmap to meet the needs of operators and customer alike. Integrating Kiwibot into our system and making fresh, deliciously crafted pizzas accessible in an easy, fast and contactless format positions us to bring our Piestro automated pizzeria to market stronger than ever."

"Kiwibot is all about affordable delivery and contactless execution," said David Rodriguez, Head of Business at Kiwibot. "Partnering with Piestro is great synergy for consumers who want to have access to their local pizza favorites with speedy delivery and seamless ease. Our relationship with Piestro is just one more way operators can offset the big margin cuts normal delivery services take, that make it so difficult to stay in business."

Piestro is already backed by experts in the food automation space. Its lead investor, Wavemaker Partners, is a global venture capital fund with $400M AUM and its studio, Wavemaker Labs, focuses directly on automation. Now more investors can be part of the future of automation. To learn more and invest in Piestro, visit https://www.startengine.com/piestro.

About Piestro
Piestro is an automated pizzeria – a standalone, fully integrated cooking system and dispenser – that delivers high-quality artisanal pizzas within 3 minutes. Combining robotics, precision control/actuation and culinary excellence, Piestro creates pizzas full of authentic flavor closer to customers. The company is backed by lead investor, Wavemaker Partners, a global Venture Capital fund with $400M AUM and Wavemaker Labs, a food automation focused venture studio. The company features a seasoned team of food and robotics expertise made up of executives and founders from Miso Robotics, Kitchen United, SBE Entertainment Group, Graze Autonomous Mowers, and Wolfgang Puck. Invest in Piestro today by visiting https://www.startengine.com/piestro.

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SOURCE Piestro