Correction: In a previous version of this article, the timing of Chipotle’s investment in Hyphen was misstated. Chipotle has not invested additional money in Hyphen since the summer of 2024, when its Cultivate Next Fund contributed $15 million to the tech firm.
Dive Brief:
- Hyphen, the company behind Chipotle’s automated makeline prototype, has secured a $10 million investment from Cava, according to a press release emailed to Restaurant Dive, joining a $15 million investment in Hyphen by Chipotle last summer.
- Cava’s investment is split between an initial $5 million and another $5 million that the fast casual chain will make available subject to unspecified conditions. Chipotle initially invested in Hyphen in 2022, as part of the chain’s Cultivate Next Fund.
- Cava’s Chief Financial Officer Tricia Tolivar said the chain wanted to “explore the relationship with Hyphen, the functionality of the equipment, the timeliness and the pricing,” but declined to share more specific terms.
Dive Insight:
Cava plans to use Hyphen’s makeline to process digital orders in the back of house, Tolivar said. The tech could help increase order accuracy — Cava’s weak spot on digital orders — and overall speed of service, Tolivar said. This could free up workers to spend more time interacting with customers.
“Anything we can do to enhance the human experience, not replace it, is something we're focused on,” Tolivar said. “We believe that Hyphen is well-positioned to do that.”
According to the press release, Hyphen will use the new capital to speed up the development and deployment of its makeline. The company framed its equipment as a way to grow digital orders without adding undue operational complexity.
The Mediterranean fast casual brand has not begun testing Hyphen’s equipment in stores. Tolivar said Cava’s operations and food safety quality assurance teams will work with the tech company to ensure the automated makeline is safe and efficient before deploying it.
“We will likely have the equipment in test in 2026. But I don't foresee a deployment at a broader scale for a number of months after [that],” Tolivar said.
When Chipotle began testing Hyphen’s makeline in 2023, Restaurant Dive raised concerns about the potential for cross-contamination and the potential difficulty cleaning the machine. Since then, Hyphen’s makeline has undergone a series of tests, alongside Vebu’s Autocado, both at Chipotle’s Cultivate Center and in at least one restaurant.
Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said on the chain’s Q1 2025 earnings call that the makeline was heading back to stores for testing this summer, after unspecified enhancements.
Boatwright said at the time that Chipotle was “happy with the progress we are seeing and remain optimistic about both pieces of equipment.”
Cava and Chipotle’s investments over the last couple of years signal publicly traded, segment-leading fast casuals are looking to labor-saving tech as a key area of development in the coming years.
Sweetgreen, another fast casual chain, has developed its own automated makeline separate from Hyphen, called the Infinite Kitchen. On Sweetgreen’s most recent earnings call, CEO Jonathan Neman singled out the Infinite Kitchen as a bright spot in an otherwise dismal sales quarter for the brand.
“We are seeing higher AUVs for the Infinite Kitchen stores,” Neman said. “We also see better customer satisfaction scores. You have better accuracy, faster throughput.” Sweetgreen has also lessened labor turnover at Infinite Kitchen locations.
These results, and Hyphen’s expanded production, could set the groundwork for a significant expansion of automated makelines.
