Zume, a Silicon Valley pizza startup that raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors, has shut down. The company, which used robots to make and deliver pizza, struggled to find a sustainable business model.
Zume was founded in 2015 by two former Uber engineers, Alex Garden and Julia Collins. The company’s goal was to revolutionize the pizza industry by using robots to make and deliver pizzas more efficiently. Zume raised $450 million from investors, including SoftBank Group Corp. and Andreessen Horowitz.
Zume’s robots were able to make pizzas in minutes, much faster than traditional methods. The company also used a fleet of self-driving trucks to deliver pizzas to customers. However, Zume’s business model was not sustainable. The company was losing money and was unable to attract enough customers.
In 2020, Zume laid off most of its employees and pivoted to a new business model. The company focused on selling its technology to other businesses, such as restaurants and grocery stores.
However, Zume was unable to find enough customers for this new business model. The company continued to operate in a smaller capacity, but it ultimately shut down its operations on June 3, 2023.
