Kaikaku

Description: Building AI for Food Assembly

Investors: HodlCo

Reference Link to Deck: https://www.businessinsider.com/exclusive-kaikako-raises-1-8-million-for-ai-robotics-restaurant-2024-4

Stage: Pre-Seed

Part 1 — Slide Transcriptions

Slide 1 — Cover

Reinventing the Quick-Service-Restaurant Business Model using Robotics and AI

Slide 2 — Founding Team

Hands-on Founders with strong track record building food and tech businesses:

Josef Chen (Co-founder & CEO): background in Imperial College, Deliveroo, food robotics.

Dr. David Sharp (Co-founder & CTO): experience at Ocado, Microsoft, University College London.

Piers Millar (Co-founder & CDO): experience at McDonald’s, restaurant franchise development.

Slide 3 — Wider Team

“Ruthless Innovators” — 6 additional profiles, with backgrounds in Ocado, BCG, Kearney, robotics, software, product design, and strategy.

Slide 4 — Advisors

Advised by world-leading people (monthly meetings with industry titans):

Don Fertman (ex-Chief Development Officer at Subway).

David Crean (ex-Global Chief Science Officer at Mars Inc).

Jonathan Hart (Advisor, formerly Costa Coffee, Whitbread, Jamie Oliver restaurants).

Slide 5 — Problem

QSR chains = bedrock of restaurant industry (McDonald’s, Subway, Starbucks).

Challenges:

Extremely low staff satisfaction (jobs mundane & non-creative).

Competitors building “mechanical horses” not “engines”.

Consistency at scale is exponentially harder.

Slide 6 — Solution

“Make QSR as scalable as SaaS”

Robot-ensured consistency.

AI quality assurance + personalisation.

= Happier customers, friendlier staff, rapid scalability.

Slide 7 — Go-To-Market

Build & operate D2C QSR franchises to sell B2B solutions.

Function before attraction.

Double down on human elements.

Only automate what makes sense.

Design a new hospitality experience.

Use AI to maximize personalization & train robots.

Slide 8 — Why not sell B2B directly?

Selling to operators → high sales complexity, no proof of ROI, low willingness to pay, high CAC, low LTV.

Operating D2C → super low initial CapEx, high ROI on small floorspace, proven scalability, lower CAC, faster R&D.

Reference: Blank Street (coffee chain) as proof.

Slide 9 — Hardware

Proven excellence in commercially viable hardware:

World’s fastest bowl assembler (under 10 seconds).

“Food Cartridge System” (ingredients swappable within 8 seconds).

Multiple food-safe dispensing/cooling/heating modules.

100+ bowls served with $600 prototype at first demo.

Slide 10 — Quality Assurance

AI-assisted QA:

Recognizing ingredients in mixed bowls.

Tracking “dwell times” of food on display.

Screenshots of AI computer vision on food items.

Slide 11 — Timing

“It’s when, not if.”

News clippings about automation and AI adoption in food sector.

Slide 12 — Market Opportunity

Untapped opportunity in global food service:

$2.52T TAM (Statista).

$539B SAM (QSR chains).

$825M Early Target Market (UK QSR).

Slide 13 — Market Map

Magic Quadrant: Applied Food Robotics & Automation.

Competitors plotted across axes “Ability to execute” vs “Completeness of vision.”

Kaikaku positioned as Visionary.

Part 2 — Design & Framing Notes (Slide-by-Slide)

Slide 1 (Cover)

Dark futuristic background with geometric wireframe effect. Bold promise — repositioning QSR through robotics/AI. Sets a disruptive, high-tech tone.

Slide 2–3 (Team)

Profile-card layout with photos, logos, and academic/work references. Strong credibility framing — “hands-on founders” + “ruthless innovators.” Mix of food industry & robotics experience emphasized.

Slide 4 (Advisors)

Uses heavyweight industry names (Subway, Mars, Costa Coffee). Headshots + logos give gravitas. Monthly touchpoint language suggests active involvement, not passive advisors.

Slide 5 (Problem)

Minimal dark slide with logos (McDonald’s, Subway, Starbucks) front and center. Problem icons below (staff unhappiness, wrong solutions, scaling inconsistency). Frames QSR industry as broken but crucial.

Slide 6 (Solution)

Very SaaS-inspired framing: icons → equation → outcome. Uses “as scalable as SaaS” metaphor to resonate with tech investors. Clean, bold visual design.

Slide 7 (GTM)

Full-color lifestyle photo backdrop, overlaid text. Bubble callouts list principles (e.g. “only automate what makes sense”). Communicates balance between human touch and automation.

Slide 8 (Why not B2B?)

Two-column comparison (selling vs operating). Icons for chef vs storefront. Clever Blank Street example builds investor familiarity.

Slide 9 (Hardware)

Photos of prototype machine + captioned bullets. Tangible credibility: “world’s fastest bowl assembler,” <$1K prototype. Brings physicality to otherwise abstract AI pitch.

Slide 10 (QA)

Side-by-side AI screenshots of food labeling. Visual proof that they’re using computer vision, not just talking.

Slide 11 (Timing)

Headline “It’s when, not if” paired with screenshots of real news coverage. Frames inevitability of category growth.

Slide 12 (Market Size)

Classic 3-tier TAM/SAM/SOM with bold financials ($2.5T/$539B/$825M). Clean, high-contrast numbers dominate. Investor comfort slide.

Slide 13 (Quadrant)

Gartner-style quadrant. Puts Kaikaku into “Visionary” slot against named competitors. Strong visual positioning for investors who like comparative maps.

Kaikaku

Kaikaku

Part 1 — Slide Transcriptions

Part 2 — Design & Framing Notes (Slide-by-Slide)

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