Wonder plans AI tool that lets anyone launch a restaurant brand fast

In short: Wonder says it is building a tool that uses AI to help anyone create and launch a virtual restaurant brand across its kitchen network.

What happened

Marc Lore, the founder of food delivery and dining company Wonder, said the company is working on “Wonder Create.” It is meant to let people design a new restaurant brand using AI, which is software that can generate text and ideas from a short request.

Lore said a person could type what kind of restaurant they want, and the system would produce the name, branding, menu descriptions, images, pricing, nutrition and health information, and recipes. He said this could happen in under a minute, and the person could then edit the result by changing the prompt (a prompt is the short instruction you type, like giving directions to a helper).

Wonder would then make and deliver the food from its own locations. The company currently has about 120 kitchens and expects to reach 400 next year, according to Lore. These kitchens are designed to switch between many different menus, and they increasingly use machines like conveyors and robotic arms to help with cooking.

Lore said the goal is not necessarily to cut staff, but to make more meals with the same number of people. He also noted limits, like not being able to do tasks such as stretching pizza dough or rolling sushi.

Why it matters

This is another attempt to make “virtual restaurants” easier to start, similar to ghost kitchens from the early 2020s. Those earlier efforts struggled with issues like inconsistent food quality, so it will matter whether Wonder’s standardized kitchens can deliver reliable results as it grows.

Source: TechCrunch AI