# Hyphen

> Hyphen builds the Makeline, an automated meal-assembly system that sits beneath a restaurant's counter and portions and plates digital and takeout orders while staff handle the guest-facing line above it. Paired with its CulinaryOS software for menus, orders, inventory and labor, the San Jose company aims to raise peak-hour throughput and order accuracy without replacing kitchen workers. Founded in 2020 by Stephen Klein and Daniel Fukuba, Hyphen has raised roughly $59M and counts Chipotle and Cava among its strategic investors and pilot customers.

- **Founded:** 2020
- **Headquarters:** San Jose, California, United States
- **Founders:** Stephen Klein (Co-Founder & CEO), Daniel Fukuba (Co-Founder & CTO)
- **Team size:** ~36 employees
- **Products:** Makeline, CulinaryOS / Serve OS, Customer Portal & Analytics
- **Notable:** Launched what it billed as the world's first robotic Makeline in 2021., Demonstrated up to 350 meals per hour at ~99% accuracy in Chipotle's Cultivate Center pilot., Secured strategic investment from two major fast-casual chains, Chipotle and Cava.

## Products & services

- **Makeline** — An automated, under-counter meal-assembly system that portions ingredients and assembles digital, takeout and drive-through orders using adaptive dispensers; demonstrated up to 350 meals per hour at ~99% accuracy in Chipotle's pilot.
- **CulinaryOS / Serve OS** — The software layer running the Makeline and the kitchen - menu development, order management, inventory tracking, prep, labor management and performance analytics.
- **Customer Portal & Analytics** — Operator dashboards that turn Makeline data into prep alerts, throughput metrics and operational insights.

## Achievements

- Launched what it billed as the world's first robotic Makeline in 2021.
- Demonstrated up to 350 meals per hour at ~99% accuracy in Chipotle's Cultivate Center pilot.
- Secured strategic investment from two major fast-casual chains, Chipotle and Cava.
- Raised roughly $59M in total funding across seed, Series A and Series B.
- Reported customer base tripling in the twelve months before its 2022 Series A.

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Closed a $25M Series B with participation from CAVA Group (up to $10M) to scale automated Makeline production and U.S. rollout.
- **2025-12** — CNBC detailed how Chipotle and Cava are both backing Hyphen's automated makelines, with Chipotle's total investment reaching ~$25M via Cultivate Next.
- **2024-07** — Chipotle invested $15M through its Cultivate Next venture fund and began piloting the makeline.

## Links

- Website: https://usehyphen.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/use-hyphen
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/gethyphen

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hyphen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-11