Zume Pizza, a tech start-up that uses robots to make pizza, has raised nearly $50 million.

The Mountain View, California, company has raised about $48 million, just $2 million shy of its $50 million goal, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last December, it raised $23 million at a $50 million post-money valuation from a round of series A funding, according to Pitchbook.

Zume Pizza employs a mix of robots and humans to create and deliver one of America’s favorite foods. Robots perform highly repetitive tasks like squirting and spreading tomato sauce and placing pizzas in ovens. Humans help with food preparation, recipe development, taste tests and work to improve their pizzas based on customer feedback, co-founder and co-CEO Julia Collins previously told CNBC.

Zume sold its first pizza on April 1, 2016. Collins hopes to service the entire Bay Area from its one main facility by the end of 2018.

Not everyone likes the idea of robots replacing people. Bodega, a start-up that creates an automated system to mimic a convenience store, received fierce backlash last month. Its founders later apologized to offended city dwellers.

— CNBC’s Harriet Taylor contributed to this report.

Source: Tech CNBC
Tech startup that uses robots to make pizza raises nearly million