Pranoti Nagarkar and her husband have figured out an easier way to make flatbreads at home: robots.
After eight years and 11 different iterations, the husband-and-wife team developed Rotimatic, a smart kitchen robot that uses artificial intelligence to make rotis. A flatbread typically made from wheat flour, the roti originated from India and is a staple food for about a billion people.
Here’s how it works: the user fills the machine’s compartments with flour, oil, and water. They input the number of rotis desired before pushing the start button. A fresh roti comes out in a matter of minutes. Nagarkar compares the $999 Rotimatic to a (much more expensive) printer or coffee maker — press a button, step away, and come back to the final product.
“It’s smart, it has machine learning, it’s got artificial intelligence, and on top of that, it’s connected,” says Nagarkar, who previously worked as a mechanical engineer.
Nagarkar and her husband invested their savings in the robot, eventually going on to raise $15 million in venture capital for the tech company behind the robot, Zimplistic. After a two-and-a-half year waitlist with 300,000 people signed up to receive a Rotimatic, the company is now taking orders from customers in the United States and Singapore.
“By the end of the year, our target is to hit $50 million in revenue by selling 50,000 Rotimatics,” she says.
Nagarkar says the company will add capabilities to the machine that will allow it to create cornmeal tortillas and flavored wraps.
Watch the video above to see the Rotimatic in action.
