Jay-Z is quickly building a massive consumer investment portfolio and his latest move proves he’s looking to tap into the future of food.
In a news release shared with ESSENCE, the hip-hop tycoon‘s VC firm Marcy Venture Partners led a $16.5 million Series A financing round for Stellar Pizza, a robot-powered restaurant. The brand was founded by former SpaceX engineer and CEO Benson Tsai, who said he plans to upend the quick-service food industry with its automated, robotic pizza truck. With the funding, they hope to expand nationwide.
“As a restaurant that drives directly to the customer, Stellar Pizza removes the need for expensive real estate while reducing the cost of labor,” the news release stated.”
Jay-Z‘s interest in the robot-driven brand is indicative of the food industry’s future.
58% of U.S. food manufacturing orders are fulfilled by robots.
“More industries recognized that robotics could help reverse productivity declines and fill repetitive jobs human workers don’t want. It is no longer a choice whether to deploy robots and automation,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation in an earlier interview. “It’s now an absolute imperative. As we’ve long believed—and users continue to confirm—robots help companies compete, ultimately creating more jobs to handle their growth.”
This isn’t Jay-Z’s first foray into backing a tech-driven food brand.
Last year he joined a group of investors in supporting plant-based chicken company SIMULATE, which reportedly raised about $50 million to date. The round was Led by SEVEN SEVEN SIX, an investment fund created by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and included participation from the Roc Nation founder and his business partner Jay Brown.