Cali Group

What Cali Group does

Cali Group is a private investment holding company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, focused on developing and deploying computer vision, AI, and robotics technologies for the restaurant and retail industries. Founded in 2018 and chaired by John Miller (who also serves as CEO of portfolio company PopID), the company operates a portfolio of technology and operating businesses including Miso Robotics (Flippy autonomous kitchen robots and Chippy tortilla-chip robot), PopID (facial recognition payment and identity verification platform), CaliBurger (technology-forward restaurant chain), Kolo AI (cross-platform AI assistant), Super League Gaming, Kitchen United (ghost-kitchen technology), My Simon (retail intelligence), Super Volcano (AI data platform), Gatlin Robotics, and Antler (venture platform).

The company's technology stack centers on three integrated capabilities: computer vision for biometric authentication and checkout (PopID), autonomous robotics for kitchen automation (Miso Robotics' Flippy systems for frying, grilling, and beverage dispensing), and AI-driven software platforms including Kolo AI and Super Volcano. These technologies are deployed through the company's own restaurant concepts — notably CaliExpress by Flippy, opened December 2023 in Pasadena as the world's first fully autonomous AI-powered restaurant — and through enterprise B2B partnerships with major QSR chains (White Castle with 100+ Flippy deployments at its Columbus location; Steak n Shake's nationwide biometric rollout; Chipotle's Chippy robot development), payment networks (Visa, J.P. Morgan Payments), POS providers (Verifone, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions), banks (QNB in Qatar), and venue operators (ASM Global, Dodger Stadium).

Cali Group pursues an enterprise field-sales motion targeting major restaurant brands and financial institutions, supplemented by embedded distribution through payment-processor and POS-provider channel partnerships. The company monetizes through a mix of equity appreciation in portfolio companies, hardware and software revenue from Miso Robotics deployments, recurring licensing of PopID biometric technology to enterprise partners, and direct restaurant operations revenue from CaliBurger and CaliExpress locations. Pricing is custom and contract-based for enterprise deployments with no publicly disclosed pricing. Geographic operations span the United States, Qatar, and the UAE, with active global expansion underway in 2025-2026 supported by a 2025 PopID equity financing round backed by PayPal and Visa and a 2025 NEC Orchestrating Future Fund investment.

Name

Cali Group

Legal name

Cali Group

Website

https://thecaligroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cali Group is a private holding company investing in computer vision, AI, and robotics for the restaurant and retail sectors. Its portfolio includes Miso Robotics, PopID biometric payments, and CaliBurger, deploying integrated automation to QSR chains, payment processors, and venues globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Robot Hardware, Actuators & Components (sensors, grippers, motors) (HDAAAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Responsible AI, Security & Privacy Platforms (Safety, Guardrails, PII) (HDAEANAG), POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure (FSAGABAO)

Keywords

• Restaurant robotics
• Biometric payments
• Kitchen automation
• Computer vision AI
• Autonomous restaurants

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasadena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns from Portfolio Companies: Cali Group generates returns through its investment portfolio of restaurant tech companies including Miso Robotics, PopID, CaliBurger, and others. Revenue is realized through equity appreciation, acquisition exits, and strategic investments.
2. PopID Biometric Technology Licensing: PopID, a facial recognition payment company under Cali Group, generates revenue through licensing its biometric payment technology to enterprise partners including Verifone, Toshiba, Visa, and J.P. Morgan.
3. Robotics Hardware and Software Sales: Miso Robotics (Flippy and related robotic systems) generates revenue through hardware sales, software licensing, and service agreements with restaurant chains like White Castle and CaliBurger.
4. Restaurant Operations (CaliBurger): Direct revenue from restaurant operations at CaliBurger locations, including franchise fees and food/beverage sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cali Group is a private technology investment holding company that develops, owns, and commercializes computer vision, AI, and robotics technologies for the restaurant and retail industries. Its portfolio includes PopID (facial recognition payment platform), Miso Robotics (Flippy autonomous kitchen robots), CaliExpress by Flippy (fully autonomous restaurant concept), CaliBurger (restaurant chain), and Kolo AI (cross-platform AI assistant), sold or licensed to enterprise restaurant chains, payment processors, and POS providers.

Product overview

Cali Group is an investment company that owns restaurant and real estate assets and invests in technology companies focused on computer vision, AI, and robotics for the restaurant and retail industries. The portfolio includes operating subsidiaries (CaliBurger restaurant chain), technology investments (Miso Robotics with Flippy autonomous cooking robots, PopID biometric payment platform, Kolo AI assistant), gaming/entertainment (Super League esports), and emerging AI and robotics ventures (CaliExpress by Flippy autonomous restaurant, My Simon retail intelligence, Super Volcano data platform, Gatlin Robotics, Antler venture platform). The ecosystem integrates robotics automation with biometric payment and identity verification across restaurant and retail applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CaliBurger: Burger restaurant chain featuring robotic kitchen technology, including Flippy the robot.
• CaliExpress by Flippy
• PopID

Products and services

• PopID Biometric Payment Platform Facial recognition payment and identity verification platform enabling biometric check-in, checkout, and payment at restaurants, retail, stadiums, and government applications; licensed to enterprise partners including Verifone, Toshiba, Visa, and J.P. Morgan.
• CaliExpress by Flippy Fully autonomous AI-powered restaurant concept combining Miso Robotics cooking automation with PopID facial recognition for ordering and payment, with no human intervention in cooking or checkout.
• Flippy Robotic Kitchen Assistant (Miso Robotics) AI-powered autonomous robotic arm designed for restaurant kitchens that automates cooking tasks such as burger flipping, frying chicken, and preparing fries with consistent quality; sold to enterprise QSR chains such as White Castle.
• Kolo AI Assistant Cross-platform AI assistant connecting SMS, app, and web channels for family communication and task management, with specialized AI personas, surpassing 10 million messages in its first 85 days.
• PopPay Digital Currency Platform Payment platform built on PopID biometric technology that expanded to support government-backed digital currencies, initially with the Bahamas central bank digital currency (CBDC).
• CaliBurger Restaurant Chain Technology-driven burger restaurant chain featuring robotics and biometric payment systems, operated by Cali Group as a wholly-owned subsidiary and franchise network.

Quantifiable outcome

• Steak n Shake became first national restaurant chain to deploy biometric check-in and checkout nationwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• J.P. Morgan PaymentscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2024J.P. Morgan Payments partnered with PopID to expand biometric offerings. Plans announced for biometric checkout rollout in 2025, enabling J.P. Morgan's merchant clients to offer facial recognition payments.
• VisacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 November 2022Visa and PopID formed partnership to launch facial verification payments in the Middle East, starting with FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Visa brings payment infrastructure and merchant network; PopID provides biometric technology.
• VerifonecoreTechnology or IntegrationVerifone and PopID partnered to drive adoption of biometric payments and loyalty solutions. Verifone integrates PopID technology into its global point-of-sale terminal ecosystem.
• Toshiba Global Commerce SolutionscoreTechnology or IntegrationToshiba Global Commerce Solutions partnered with PopID to deliver biometric-enabled point-of-sale and self-checkout systems. Featured at NRF 2024 showcasing retail innovation integration.
• QNB (Qatar)flagshipTechnology or IntegrationQNB is first in Qatar to launch PopID facial payments solution for its merchants. Enables customers to pay with their face at participating QNB merchant locations.
• ASM GlobalcoreTechnology or IntegrationASM Global, operator of convention centers and venues worldwide, leverages facial verification through partnership with PopID for venue access control and payment applications.
• Network InternationalcoreTechnology or IntegrationUAE central bank launched biometric payment pilot with PopID and Network International. Network International processes payments across the Middle East and Africa region.
• White CastleflagshipTechnology or IntegrationWhite Castle partnered with Miso Robotics to deploy Flippy robotic fry cooks. First national QSR chain to adopt kitchen robotics; expanded to 100+ robot deployments at rebuilt Columbus location.
• Steak n ShakeflagshipTechnology or IntegrationSteak n Shake became first national restaurant chain to deploy biometric check-in and checkout using PopID technology in all stores nationwide.
• Miso RoboticsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiso Robotics (Flippy maker) is a portfolio company of Cali Group. Cali Group has invested in and supports Miso Robotics' autonomous kitchen robotics development.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Nala Robotics: Nala Robotics develops AI-powered robotic kitchen systems (frying, cooking, autonomous restaurant concepts) that directly compete with Flippy and the CaliExpress autonomous-restaurant thesis, targeting the same labor-strapped QSR and ghost-kitchen customers.
• Kitchen United: Kitchen United operates tech-enabled ghost-kitchen hubs and raised a $100M Series C — a portfolio-company peer of Cali Group that competes for the same restaurant-tech thesis around off-premises dining, centralized kitchen infrastructure, and data-driven restaurant operations.
• Bear Robotics: Bear Robotics builds autonomous indoor service robots (serving, bussing, drink delivery) for restaurants and hospitality — directly comparable to Flippy as a competitor in the restaurant-automation category, addressing similar labor-shortage pain points for QSR and casual dining operators.
• Picnic: Picnic makes automated food-assembly systems (notably pizza and bowl production) for high-volume foodservice — a direct peer to Miso Robotics in the kitchen-automation category, serving similar enterprise foodservice customers with configurable robotic platforms.

Emerging players

• Agility Robotics: Agility Robotics builds humanoid robots (Digit) for logistics and commercial applications — an emerging player in the broader autonomous-robotics category that, while focused on logistics rather than kitchens, competes for the same restaurant/labor-automation narrative and enterprise robotics mindshare.
• Zume (Zume Pizza legacy / Zume technology): Zume pioneered robotic pizza-making and was acquired by Miso Robotics for technology and IP — a historical direct peer in automated kitchen robotics whose failure illustrates the execution risk that restaurant-automation peers including Cali Group must navigate.
• Serve Robotics: Serve Robotics develops autonomous sidewalk delivery robots with backing from Uber and Nvidia — an adjacent emerging player in restaurant-and-retail automation that competes for the same labor-automation thesis and enterprise customer attention as Cali Group's robotics and biometrics portfolio.
• Creator (restaurant concept): Creator built a robotic burger-making restaurant concept in San Francisco — a direct conceptual peer to CaliExpress by Flippy as a fully automated restaurant format, validating (and competing with) the thesis that AI-powered robotic kitchens can operate consumer-facing storefronts.

Broad incumbents

• NEC Corporation: NEC is a global biometrics and facial-recognition incumbent whose corporate venture fund (NEC Orchestrating Future Fund) has invested in PopID — a strategic incumbent whose NeoFace platform competes for the same enterprise biometric-payment and identity-verification contracts.
• Toast: Toast is the leading cloud-based POS and restaurant-management platform — a broad incumbent that competes with the embedded distribution that PopID gains through Toshiba and Verifone, and against which Cali Group must position its biometric checkout as an integrated layer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caligroup
• Xtwitter.com/thecaligroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cali Group