Failed 2023

    Zume Pizza

    Robot-made pizza in delivery trucks sounds innovative but solves a problem customers don't have.

    Founded → Closed

    2015 → 2023

    Funding Raised

    $445M

    Industry

    Food Tech

    Country

    USA

    IdeaProof AI Failure Score

    70/100
    Market Fit RiskBurn Rate RiskFounder Risk
    Market Fit Risk
    20
    Burn Rate Risk
    85
    Founder Risk
    35

    Full Analysis

    Zume Pizza started with robots making pizzas in delivery trucks that would cook en route. SoftBank invested $375M at a $2.25B valuation—for a pizza delivery startup. When the pizza business stalled, Zume pivoted to sustainable packaging, then to food industry logistics. Each pivot consumed cash without achieving product-market fit. The company laid off most employees in 2020 and continued to wind down through 2023. Zume exemplifies the SoftBank Vision Fund era: massive capital deployed into companies with impressive technology demos but unproven market demand. The $445M could have funded 100 lean startups.

    Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?

    IdeaProof's AI validates market demand, competitive positioning, and business model viability in minutes — catching the exact issues that sank Zume Pizza.