Seattle robot that made 130 pizzas an hour — but couldn’t bake them — is out of business

A Seattle-based robotics company, Picnic Works, is going out of business and liquidating its assets through CMBG Advisors, a third-party firm in California.

Picnic Works invented a pizza-making machine that allowed a single worker to craft 130 pizzas per hour, although the machine did not actually cook the pizzas, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal.

The sizes and amount of ingredients still had to be chosen by the worker, but the machine did apply the cheese, sauces, and toppings.

Picnic Works hands its assets over to a third-party liquidator

On May 11, the company made a general assignment for the benefit of creditors to CMBG to sell all of Picnic Works’  assets. All proceeds from the sales will be distributed to Picnic Works’ creditors by CMBG, according to a legal notice obtained by The Puget Sound Business Journal.

A general assignment for the benefit of creditors allows for an insolvent company to transfer its assets to a third party. The process is notably faster and less expensive compared to a bankruptcy filing, though it doesn’t rule out any lawsuits against the company or offer similar restructuring options for continued operations.

James Baer, CMBG President, confirmed that an entity had purchased Picnic Works’ assets but couldn’t disclose who or the price, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal.

Picnic Works’ first robot pizza maker, the Leonardo, was roughly seven feet wide, five feet tall, and three feet deep. Later on, the company invented a smaller edition dubbed the Michelangelo, which was less than five feet wide.

CEO shuffle, $5 million bet that didn’t pan out

In 2024, Picnic Works raised $5 million to focus on its new goal of high-volume, low customization clients, such as cafeterias or stadiums, instead of catering to pizzerias that create several styles of pizzas.

The former CEO of Picnic Works, Clayton Wood, left the company in 2023, only a few weeks after a round of layoffs. Three months later, the former chief revenue officer of Lifelenz, Michael Bridges, took over as Picnic Works CEO and remained in the role for more than two years.

Valeri Inting took over as CEO in September and is still listed in this role in the legal documents, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal.

Picnic Works was founded in 2016 and employed roughly 20 workers as of 2024. The company was headquartered in Interbay, though Picnic Works’ website now shows an address out of Spokane.

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