# Andy Lin

> Andy Lin is the founder and CEO of Yo-Kai Express, a Hayward, California food-robotics company that grew from his search for hot soup after a late-night semiconductor-industry call. Trained as an electrical engineer, Lin has spent a decade turning a bulky first prototype into a network of autonomous food and beverage systems, while pursuing a larger idea: a platform that lets restaurant recipes travel farther than restaurant dining rooms.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Yo-Kai Express
- **Organizations:** Yo-Kai Express, ASE Group, Sholics
- **Education:** Bio-Industrial Mechatronics Engineering, National Taiwan University, Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, University of California, Irvine
- **Known for:** Founded Yo-Kai Express in 2016 and developed autonomous systems that prepare hot meals around the clock., Expanded Yo-Kai Express to more than 150 reported locations across six countries by 2023., Built partnerships with food-service operators and restaurant brands including Aramark, Compass Group, Sodexo and Ippudo.

## Career timeline

- **c. 2004-2016** — Worked for approximately 12 years in the semiconductor industry, including engineering and technical-sales leadership at ASE Group.
- **2013** — Began an entrepreneurial project called Sholics, a last-mile grocery delivery app.
- **2015** — After a 3 a.m. work call left him unable to find hot soup, began exploring an automated hot-food concept.
- **2016** — Founded Yo-Kai Express and built an early autonomous ramen prototype within roughly six months.
- **2019** — Yo-Kai Express was deploying fourth-generation autonomous ramen machines in Silicon Valley.
- **2021** — Expanded the menu and U.S. footprint, joined JR East's food-tech co-creation center, and articulated a platform-as-a-service vision for restaurant recipes.
- **2022** — Expanded deployments in Japan and Taiwan and worked with SoftBank Robotics on food-automation operations.
- **2023** — Reported more than 150 locations across the United States, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and the United Kingdom; introduced a boba-tea concept.
- **2024** — Opened an autonomous restaurant installation at Ximen MRT station in Taipei.
- **2026** — Spoke at CES on the next wave of food kiosks, demonstrated at NRF in New York and showed an AI boba robot at Gulfood in Dubai.

## Achievements

- Founded Yo-Kai Express in 2016 and developed autonomous systems that prepare hot meals around the clock.
- Expanded Yo-Kai Express to more than 150 reported locations across six countries by 2023.
- Built partnerships with food-service operators and restaurant brands including Aramark, Compass Group, Sodexo and Ippudo.
- Joined JR East's K,D,C,,, food-tech co-creation center in 2021 as its first foreign company participant.
- Developed the product range from ramen kiosks into multi-menu food systems, boba robots and a next-generation AI robot-chef concept.
- Selected as a CES 2026 speaker for a session on robot stores and next-generation food kiosks.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Yo-Kai Express promoted its ramen and boba robotics for VivaTech in Paris, held June 17-20.
- **2026-01** — Lin demonstrated Yo-Kai Express's AI boba robot at the Gulfood exhibition in Dubai.
- **2026-01** — Lin appeared at NRF in New York for a NYSE interview and showcased edge-AI food and beverage systems.
- **2026-01** — Lin spoke at CES on the next wave of food kiosks and smart stores.

## Links

- Website: https://yokaiexpress.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andylin838
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/andylin838

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/andy-lin
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-17