A tortilla-making robot which incorporates artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technology has arrived in the UK.
Described as “the ultimate smart cooking device”, the Rotimatic was originally designed to make rotis – Indian flatbreads – but has expanded to produce variants such as puris as well as tortillas and pizza bases.
A companion app provides customer support and also acts as a chef’s assistant, allowing users to turn on and update the device and download new recipes. Remote diagnostics also allow engineers to diagnose and troubleshoot issues from afar.
Rotimatic launched in 2016 and its smart capability means it can measure the number of rotis made by its machines – a total of approaching seven million at the time of writing.
Co-founder and CTO Pranoti Nagarkar spent eight years perfecting the machine – including taking out 35 patents – which costs £760/$999.
“Eating healthy and staying fit have always been my priority. But I realised that following a healthy diet plan was always challenging and time consuming,” he said.
“I wanted to eat healthy home cooked meals but I never had the time to prepare an entire meal from scratch.
“I wanted to solve this problem with the use of technology and that’s when the idea of Rotimatic was born.”
Co-founder and CEO Rishi Israni built the software behind Rotimatic.
“We wanted Rotimatic to be smart and versatile. We wanted to leverage the untapped $160 billion kitchen appliances segment and offer a product that would take away the hassles of flatbread making and allow people more time with their families,” he said.
“It’s the only product in this segment to use IoT and AI making the entire experience pleasurable. Our hope is to see a Rotimatic in every kitchen… just like a washing machine or a refrigerator.
“We are very well on track for that.”
The product originally launched in Singapore and the United States and is now in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.”
Parent company Zimplistic raised $3 million in a Series A round from private investors, followed by a $11.5m Series B from investors including NSI Ventures and Robert Bosch Venture Capital.
The company is now in the process of planning a Series C to raise more funds.