'Hanwha 3rd Generation' Kim Dong-seon's 'Bold Bet'... 16 Billion Won Investment in US Robot Pizza, Even Changed the Name

From Sub Automation to Stella Foodtech
Establishing a 460 Trillion KRW Global Foodtech Forward Base

Kim Dong-seon, the third son of Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha Group, has launched a new business in 'Food Tech.' Shortly after acquiring the U.S. robotic pizza company 'Serve Automation,' the company changed its name to 'Stellar Food Tech.' Vice President Kim plans to make this company a global food tech forward base and aims to secure a leading position in the food tech market, which is expected to grow to 460 trillion won by 2027, through synergy with Hanwha Robotics.

According to the distribution industry on the 4th, Hanwha Food Tech, a subsidiary of Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, invested 15.972 billion won to establish its U.S. corporation, Hanwha Food Tech Global. Hanwha Food Tech plans to acquire Serve Automation, which operates the robotic pizza brand Stellar Pizza, through its U.S. corporation. An MOU focusing on asset transfer was signed in January, and all contract procedures were completed on the 29th of last month. The acquisition amount of Hanwha Food Tech Global is 798.6% of Hanwha Food Tech's capital of 2 billion won. Additional investments will be made within two years depending on business progress.

Serve Automation’s company name will be changed to Stellar Food Tech. Stellar Food Tech will be incorporated as a subsidiary of Hanwha Food Tech Global, the U.S. corporation of Hanwha Food Tech. Vice President Kim Dong-seon, after changing the name of The Testable to Hanwha Food Tech last month, has once again emphasized food tech.

A Hanwha official said, "While many global companies sent love calls to Stellar Pizza, Vice President Kim personally met Benson Chai, CEO of Stellar Pizza’s headquarters in Los Angeles, USA, and persuaded him directly," adding, "During this process, he strongly expressed his intention to expand the food tech business through synergy with the affiliate Hanwha Robotics." The official also added, "The name change also reflects Vice President Kim’s determination to expand the food tech business."

Vice President Kim has identified food tech as the future growth engine, believing that the integration of robotics and AI technology will determine the competitiveness of the food industry. He plans to use Stellar Food Tech as a stepping stone to target the global food tech market. To this end, he will acquire 100% of the assets and retain some of the management team and key technical staff, including CEO Benson Chai. Domestic market entry is also planned. A Hanwha Food Tech official said, "Once system reorganization such as technology advancement is completed, the brand will be introduced to both domestic and U.S. markets."

Meanwhile, Stellar Food Tech’s Stellar Pizza is the only pizza brand with fully automated processes and possesses top-level technology in the pizza robot market. It takes just about five minutes to make a 12-inch pizza. Since it can handle multiple orders consecutively, once cooking starts, one pizza is completed every minute.

The pizza robot that makes this possible was developed after more than three years of research by founder Benson Chai, a former SpaceX employee, and his developers. Stellar Pizza operates with a fully automated system without separate staff, significantly reducing labor and other ancillary costs. The selling price of one pizza is around $8 to $9 (based on Los Angeles), about 60% of major pizza brands.

Earlier this year, Vice President Kim personally visited ‘CES 2024’ held in Las Vegas, USA, and inspected food tech booths both domestic and international. At the time, he said, “Food tech not only allows customers to receive food of consistent quality quickly but also greatly helps solve social problems such as labor shortages,” adding, “As difficult and dangerous tasks are replaced by robots, human dignity will be enhanced, and humanity will be able to focus more on creative activities.”