Marc Lore says Wonder robots can make 500 bowls an hour
The Wonder CEO said automation will arrive in its first company kitchen next month as the food-tech startup prepares for a possible IPO.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Wonder plans to bring an automated bowl-making system into one of its kitchens next month, a step CEO Marc Lore said could sharply raise output for delivery-focused restaurants. Speaking Tuesday at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Lore said the machine can prepare 500 customized bowls an hour, far above what he estimated a human worker could produce.
Lore told Fortune that one person might make 30 to 45 bowls in an hour. The machine, which Wonder obtained through its acquisition of technology from Sweetgreen, is designed to assemble salads, Tex-Mex bowls and poke bowls from app orders with precise ingredient instructions, including nutrition targets.
According to Fortune, the system rotates each bowl on a turntable while ingredients are dispensed according to the customer’s order. Lore said the process eliminates mistakes, giving customers the bowl they requested.
Sweetgreen is already using the bowl-making system in 32 locations, Lore said. Wonder’s first deployment is scheduled for next month, according to Lore’s remarks at the conference.
Lore founded Wonder in 2018 and serves as its chairman and chief executive, Fortune reported. He previously sold Diapers.com to Amazon and Jet to Walmart; Fortune said those two deals were worth $3.8 billion combined.
Wonder operates as a food platform that owns 26 restaurant brands, Lore said, including a Bobby Flay steakhouse concept. Its menu options also include fried chicken, pizza, Chinese food and Thai food, according to Fortune.
The company also owns and runs its kitchens and manages delivery, Fortune reported. Wonder added a delivery network by acquiring Grubhub in a deal valued at $650 million that closed in 2025.
Lore said putting many brands and delivery operations into the same kitchen lets Wonder serve areas that may not have enough customers to support larger fast-casual chains such as Chipotle or Cava. He also said the model allows the company to keep prices lower because the money from the restaurant and delivery operations sits in one profit pool.
At the conference, Lore said a 10-ounce Bobby Flay steak costs $36 through Wonder, while bowls sell for under $10. He said Wonder can keep suburban kitchens open until 2 a.m. with three employees working late: one on customer calls, one finishing food and one handling pickups by delivery drivers.
Lore also told Fortune that Wonder is preparing for a public listing. He said the company expects to be ready to go public early next year, though market conditions would affect the timing.
More automation is planned, according to Lore. He said Wonder has an automated sauce system that can make 500 sauces an hour using 152 raw ingredients, and he said an automated beverage machine is planned for next year.
Lore also described a planned feature called Wonder Create, which he said would let users build delivery restaurant concepts through an AI prompt. According to Lore, the tool could generate a name, menu, pricing, photos and nutrition information in about two minutes, and users could publish the concept for $10 a month.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.