Lemelson-MIT Program
- Spyce, backed by French chef Daniel Bouland, opened in 2018 with an automated kitchen.
- Restaurant unicorn Sweetgreen said it plans to buy the Boston-based bowl concept.
- "The vision is to have Spyce's technology power Sweetgreen's restaurants," the chain told Insider.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Restaurant unicorn Sweetgreen, valued at $1.8 billion, said Tuesday it plans to buy the robotics-focused restaurant concept Spyce.
The bowl and salad chain, backed by celebrity chef Daniel Boulud, opened in Boston in 2018 with an automated kitchen that replaced cooks. Sweetgreen, which confidentially filed its IPO paperwork on June 21, did not reveal the purchase price.
The Los Angeles-based chain said it plans to update Spyce's advanced robotics and develop "a new product and concept that will best achieve Sweetgreen's goals in our restaurants as we scale."
"Ultimately the vision is to have Spyce's technology power Sweetgreen's restaurants," the chain wrote in a statement to Insider.
Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen, said Spyce and Sweetgreen have a shared purpose.
"We built Sweetgreen to connect more people to real food and create healthy fast food at scale for the next generation, and Spyce has built state-of-the-art technology that perfectly aligns with that vision," he said in a statement. "By joining forces with their best-in-class team, we will be able to elevate our team member experience, provide a more consistent customer experience and bring real food to more communities."
As restaurants continue to be challenged by the lack of labor in the industry, many are turning to automation to help with everything from ordering to bussing tables. California Pizza Kitchen is testing a robot food runner in California, while many full-service restaurants are using QR codes that allow diners to order and pay at the table without the assistance of a server.
The purchase comes a week after the digitally-focused chain named former Starbucks tech executive Wouleta Ayele as its new chief technology officer.
Her duties include developing advanced restaurant operations and enhancing digital platforms for Sweetgreen. The purchase of Spyce gives her a jump start.
Spyce was founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates. It opened in 2018, making headlines for replacing chefs with robotics. A year later, the bowl concept closed temporarily to improve its automation and menu.
It reopened in November 2020 with a new automated kitchen outfitted with a carbon steel plancha designed to infuse more flavor into the food. The next-gen kitchen cooks and assembles bowls and salads along an assembly line.
Spyce's digital ordering system also allows for more personalization, including allowing consumers to choose options based on dietary preferences such as vegetarian, pescatarian, keto, vegan, or paleo.
Sweetgreen, founded in 2007, has 130 restaurants. The purchase is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, the chain said.