Robot Pizza Enterprise Backed by SoftBank to the Tune of $445 Million Faces Shutdown
Automated Pizza Delivery Startup Stellar Pizza Inc. Aims to Succeed Where Zume Failed
In the world of tech-driven food delivery, a new player is making waves – Stellar Pizza Inc., a startup founded by a former SpaceX engineer. Despite the struggles faced by Zume, a similar venture that attempted to automate pizza delivery, Stellar Pizza is determined to make it work.
Zume, founded in 2015 and based in Mountain View, California, aimed to revolutionize the pizza delivery industry using robots and high-tech culinary innovation. However, the company faced significant challenges, with cheese often flying off the pizzas during delivery, making it an unappealing option for many customers.
In an attempt to overcome these issues, Zume's business model involved assembling pizzas at their headquarters using industrial robot arms and cooking them in mobile kitchens (food delivery trucks equipped with high-tech ovens) en route to customers' houses. Orders could be placed using Zume's delivery app, and the nearest truck would be dispatched to the user's location. The trucks were also equipped with GPS-enabled ovens to ensure pizzas were ready by the time they were close to the customer.
Despite raising a substantial $445 million in total, including a $375 million investment from Japanese investment firm SoftBank in 2018, Zume's business suffered from the critical flaw of being unable to effectively cook pizzas while they were in a moving vehicle. As a result, Zume shuttered its pizza-making division in 2020, leading to several hundred layoffs and a reduction of its workforce by approximately 50 percent.
Following the closure of its pizza division, Zume pivoted to selling sustainable food packaging full time. In 2019, they purchased a company called Pivot Packaging. However, as reported by The Information, Zume is officially insolvent and in the process of liquidating its assets.
In contrast, Stellar Pizza Inc. is making strides in the automated pizza delivery market. The startup, which recently received a $16.5 million contribution from Jay-Z's venture capital firm, Marcy Venture Partners, rolled out its cheesy products at a college campus in Los Angeles in March.
However, as of August 2025, there is no available information confirming that Stellar Pizza Inc. has secured additional funding from Jay-Z’s venture capital firm beyond the initial $16.5 million contribution. The company, based in Hawthorne, California, is reported to be a robotic food truck founded by former SpaceX engineers, but no recent updates specifically about Stellar Pizza Inc. were found.
In the ongoing quest to perfect automated pizza delivery, Stellar Pizza Inc. is a startup to watch. With the challenges faced by Zume as a cautionary tale, this new player in the industry is determined to make a mark and bring automated pizza to the masses.
The future of automated pizza delivery appears to be on the horizon with Stellar Pizza Inc., a startup showing promise in a sector that previously faced setbacks, such as Zume. Despite closing its pizza-making division in 2020, Zume served as an important reminder of the critical challenges that automated pizza delivery companies must overcome. As noted, Stellar Pizza Inc. recently received an investment from Jay-Z's venture capital firm, and its efforts to perfect the automation of pizza delivery show potential for future success in the tech, finance, and business sectors.
