Armstrong Secures $12M to Scale AI-Powered Dishwashing Robots

• Armstrong has raised $12 million from investors, including Lerer Hippeau, Bloomberg Beta, and Next Play Ventures.
• The startup builds general-purpose kitchen robots, with current deployments in a major U.S. restaurant chain.

San Francisco-based Armstrong has secured $12 million in funding to expand its line of general-purpose kitchen robots. Backers include Lerer Hippeau, Bloomberg Beta, Next Play Ventures, Transmedia Capital, and WestWave Capital.

Armstrong’s first product tackles dishwashing, one of the highest-turnover roles in the restaurant industry. Its AI-powered robots, trained on thousands of hours of real-world dishwashing footage, use neural networks and millimeter-level 3D perception to sort, grab, and clean dishes in messy, high-volume environments. Each unit integrates with standard commercial dish machines, installs within hours, and runs on a monthly subscription that includes setup, operation, and maintenance. The company says that its robotic systems are already deployed in one of the country’s largest restaurant chains, operating 24/7 and washing over a million dishes annually.

The new funding will support Armstrong’s continued deployment and advancement of its robotics platform. While dishwashing is the company’s first focus, Armstrong says the same robots will eventually handle additional kitchen tasks like cooking, prep, and cleaning. The systems are designed to integrate into existing restaurant kitchens without requiring workflow changes.

"Our vision is a general-purpose robot for restaurant kitchens," said Axel Hansen, co-founder of Armstrong, in an official press release. "Dishwashing is just the start. The same kinds of robots that wash dishes today will cook, prep, and clean tomorrow."

🌀 Tom’s Take:

Dishwashing has one of the highest turnover rates in restaurants. Armstrong’s robots are a direct response to that reality, offering a reliable way to keep kitchens running when staffing falls short.

Source: Newswire / Armstrong