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Chef Robotics Announces $43M Series A Round Led by Avataar Ventures to Scale the Deployment of AI-Enabled Robotics

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today, creators of AI-enabled robotic systems for meal assembly Chef Robotics announced it has raised $43.1M in new Series A funding that includes $20.6M in equity and $22.5M in equipment financing debt; the latter will be used to cover the financing of Chef’s robotic systems for Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) so Chef’s customers don’t have to front CapEx for their robots.

The equity round was led by Avataar Ventures and included investments from Construct Capital, Bloomberg Beta, Promus Ventures, MFV Partners, Interwoven Ventures, HCVC, MaC Venture Capital, Red and Blue Ventures, Tau Partners, Alumni Ventures, Siddhi Capital, and BOLD Capital Partners. The new funding brings Chef’s total capital raised to $65.6M which consists of $38.8M in equity and $26.75M in equipment financing, all with Silicon Valley Bank, a Division of First Citizens Bank.

Chef has quickly cemented its standing as the industry leader in AI-enabled robotics for meal assembly. Now at over 44M servings produced and counting through robot deployments at leading brands such as Amy’s Kitchen, Sunbasket, Chef Bombay, and Cafe Spice, Chef has procured more meals than all other existing food robotics startups combined. The data that Chef collects on each meal assembled is critical to the company as it relies on real-world production data to train its AI models.

The funding round will allow Chef to accelerate production deployments of its robotic systems, providing momentum for the real-world AI data engine flywheel that the company credits for its rapid growth rate of meals produced. Given food is highly variable, Chef requires high volumes of production data over prolonged periods of time for optimal model performance. The more data Chef collects in the field, the more its systems’ performance improves, the more customers use Chef’s robotic systems, the more customers expand; this expansion in turn creates more runtime in production leading to more data from the field; it also means that when Chef approaches new customers, Chef can help manipulate their ingredients from the get-go, further accelerating the flywheel’s momentum.

“Robotics is really having a moment right now. The innovations in AI have unlocked the potential of Embodied AI for robotics. We believe we’re in the pole position to scale given all the real-world production training data we already have,” says Rajat Bhageria, Founder and CEO of Chef Robotics.

“AI in the physical world is happening right now with robotics. Food is one of the largest markets in the world. Industrial AI is already winning, and food packaging automation is quietly transforming how we get our meals. Chef has quickly cemented its standing as the industry leader in AI-enabled robotics for meal assembly at over 44M servings produced and counting. We look forward to this exciting partnership with Chef Robotics as they expand their global leadership,” said Mohan Kumar, Founder and Managing Partner of Avataar Ventures.

Additionally, this infusion of funds will enable Chef to scale its go-to-market team and efforts. The funding round equips Chef to further invest in non-engineering functions like sales and marketing to scale its deployments.

Chef currently serves customers in the U.S. and Canada, with plans to expand to the U.K. market in 2025. For more on customer impact, visit www.chefrobotics.ai/customer-impact.

About Chef Robotics
Chef is the first company to have commercialized a scalable AI-driven food robotics solution. With over 44 million servings made in production, Chef leverages ChefOS, an AI platform for food manipulation, to offer a Robotics-as-a-Service solution that helps industry-leading food companies increase production volume and meet demand. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Chef aims to empower humans to do what humans do best by accelerating the advent of intelligent machines.

About Avataar Ventures
Avataar Venture Partners is a growth-stage B2B fund focused on investing in companies at their inflection point for scaling. Avataar’s full-stack Operating team works closely with portfolio companies across Strategy, Global GTM, Inorganic growth via M&A, Business Finance and IPO-readiness. We invest in Software, Deep Tech, AI in Industrial Automation and Robotics and Capital Efficient B2B2C businesses. More at www.avataar.vc.

Media Contacts
Rajat Bhageria
rajat@chefrobotics.ai

Sarah Mowad
sarah@chefrobotics.ai 

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SOURCE Chef Robotics

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Flō Networks Announces Intention to Launch Public Tender Offers to Acquire Up to 100% of Controladora Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V. and Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V.

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MEXICO CITY and EL PASO, Texas, Sept. 1, 2026 /CNW/ — Transtelco Holding, Inc. (doing business as Flō Networks, or “Flō”), a U.S.-based, independent digital infrastructure provider operating its own fiber-optic network across Mexico, the Southwestern United States and Latin America, today announced its intention to launch concurrent public tender offers (ofertas públicas de adquisición, or the “Offers”) to acquire up to 100% of the outstanding shares of Controladora Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V. (“Controladora Axtel”) and up to 100% of the outstanding CPOs of Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V. (“Axtel,” and together with Controladora Axtel, the “Axtel Companies”).

Flō has received preliminary approval from the Boards of Directors of both Axtel Companies to continue the process

Flō has received preliminary approval from the Boards of Directors of both Axtel Companies to continue the process toward launching the Offers, and is working to obtain the required regulatory approvals.

The commencement of the Offers remains subject to authorization by the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, clearance by the Comisión Nacional Antimonopolio, the receipt of any other required regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of the applicable contractual and corporate conditions. Subject to the satisfaction of these requirements, Flō is prepared to move promptly toward commencement of the Offers. The terms and conditions of the Offers, including the applicable offering documents, will be published in accordance with Mexican securities laws and the regulations of the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores at the appropriate time.

“This is an important step in our long-term vision for Flō and for the digital infrastructure that will support Mexico’s continued economic and technological development,” said Miguel Fernandez, Chief Executive Officer of Flō Networks. “By bringing together the complementary networks, capabilities and talent of Flō and Axtel, we have an opportunity to create a stronger digital infrastructure platform with greater scale, reach and capacity to serve customers across Mexico and beyond. We believe that stronger infrastructure enables stronger businesses, greater innovation and new opportunities for the communities and economies we connect.”

The proposed acquisition would combine complementary assets and expertise to strengthen Flō’s ability to invest in network resilience, expand its portfolio of digital services and deliver greater value to businesses operating in Mexico and across the region. Flō believes the combination would create meaningful operational and commercial synergies while supporting continued investment in the infrastructure required for critical technologies for productivity and competitiveness. The transaction would also create opportunities for long-term value creation for customers, employees, shareholders, partners and the communities the companies serve.

About Flō Networks

Founded as Transtelco in 2001, Flō Networks is a leading digital infrastructure provider connecting companies on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and across the Americas. Flō provides comprehensive connectivity solutions and advanced cloud infrastructure to Fortune 500 companies, telecommunications providers and cable operators through a fiber-optic network spanning more than 30,000 route miles across the Southwestern United States and Mexico, with connectivity across fifteen countries throughout the Americas. For more information, visit flo.net.

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SOURCE Flō Networks

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Arista Demand Hires Jordanna Howard to Strengthen the Company’s Continued Growth

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Arista Demand, a leading provider of B2B demand generation solutions, is pleased to announce Jordanna Howard has joined the company as VP, Global Integrated Sales, effective September 1, 2026.

Prior to joining Arista Demand, Jordanna spent five years at Veritas Media Group, serving as VP of Client Services. Jordanna played a key part in growing VMG’s client portfolio and driving net-new revenue through new business partnerships, while also expanding and strengthening existing client relationships. She was instrumental in championing VMG’s reputation for white-glove service, exceptional client experiences, and long-term client success.

Jordanna joins Arista Demand as the organization continues to expand its capabilities, strengthen and build client partnerships, and help B2B organizations connect with the right prospects through results-driven demand generation and media initiatives.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jordanna to Arista Demand,” said Managing Director, Jennifer Sand. “She brings tremendous experience, energy, and a client-focused approach that aligns perfectly with how we work. Jordanna will be an important part of our continued growth, and we’re excited to have her on the team.”

In her new role, Jordanna will focus on client development, partnerships, and sales. Her experience in digital and non-traditional media will further strengthen Arista Demand’s ability to deliver innovative and integrated, measurable solutions, beyond lead gen, for clients.

“I’m excited to join Arista Demand and become part of a team that is so focused on its clients and their success,” said Howard. “I look forward to contributing to the company’s growth and helping our clients achieve meaningful results.”

Jordanna lives in Napa, California, with her partner, Jeff, and daughter, Mackie. Outside of work, she loves spending time with family and friends and is passionate about giving back.

She serves on UCSF’s Board of Directors for “All May See” vision foundation as well as sfBIG’s Board, supporting and connecting the Bay Area advertising community. Jordanna is also actively involved in her daughter’s school and is the troop leader for her local Girl Scouts Brownie troop.

About Arista Demand

Arista Demand helps B2B organizations accelerate revenue through intent targeted demand generation programs designed to connect brands with their respective audience that matter most. Through a combination of intent, 1st party data, strategy, technology, and client-focused execution, Arista Demand helps marketers build pipeline and drive measurable business results. Arista Demand brings buyers and sellers together around the globe. 

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SOURCE Arista Demand

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Reducto Unveils a Frontier Parsing Model That Makes the World’s Hardest Documents AI-Ready for 1¢ a Page

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The new r-1 model is the first in a family of document intelligence models that reduces parsing errors by up to 20% while replacing complex, multi-tool pipelines with a single model that costs up to 6× less.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reducto today introduced r-1, a frontier document parsing model that turns complex PDFs, scans, spreadsheets, and other files into accurate, structured data for AI systems.

Reducto has already established itself as a leader in document parsing by handling the long tail of complex files that break conventional tools. Available today in preview, r-1 extends that lead—reducing errors by up to 20%, improving latency at high volumes, and bringing the all-in cost down to 1¢ per page.

Before an AI system can reason over a document, it must first understand what is on the page. That becomes difficult when meaning is encoded not only in text, but also in tables, handwriting, reading order, formatting, checkboxes, strikethroughs, and the position of content. A parser that misreads a financial table can give an AI agent the wrong numbers. One that drops a strikethrough can reverse the meaning of a contract.

Established services such as Amazon Textract and Azure Document Intelligence helped make cloud document processing widely available. But organizations working with complex documents often still combine multiple tools, models, and layers of post-processing to achieve the accuracy they need. In Reducto’s evaluations, r-1 outperformed commonly used hyper-scaler products and large LLMs on complex documents while providing a complete parse at one all-in price.

Built from the ground up and trained on some of the most challenging document data in the world, r-1 combines layout detection, reading order, tables, formatting, grounding, and granular citations in a single model. It is designed for the long tail of documents where simpler parsers break down, including dense tables, unusual layouts, low-quality scans, handwriting, watermarked content, and files that do not follow predictable templates.

By combining these capabilities, r-1 can handle an organization’s full document workload without requiring teams to route files among providers or maintain separate pipelines for different document types. Its flat price of 1¢ per page includes the complete parse, without additional model charges or feature-based multipliers.

r-1 is the first in a broader family of Reducto parsing models designed for different points on the accuracy, latency, and cost curve. Planned additions include r-1 mini, a smaller model for speed- and cost-sensitive workloads, and automatic routing that selects the right model for each page.

Organizations using another parser can receive up to $5,000 in credits to test r-1 on their most difficult documents, along with hands-on benchmarking support, at reducto.ai/migrate. r-1 is also available today in preview through a configuration flag in the Reducto Parse API.

About Reducto

Reducto is an agentic document platform that turns complex, real-world documents into structured data for AI agents and document-intensive workflows. The company has raised more than $108 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital and has processed more than a billion pages a month. Its customers include Harvey, Scale AI, Vanta, Airtable, Toast, and Fortune 10 enterprises.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reducto-unveils-a-frontier-parsing-model-that-makes-the-worlds-hardest-documents-ai-ready-for-1-a-page-302866077.html

SOURCE Reducto

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