Eye on Restaurants: Presto Voice Is Gaining Traction; Lunchbox Taps Finix for Online Payments

Presto Automation Inc. says its voice-ordering system for restaurants represents a $17-million annual revenue opportunity as the company finishes its first full year as a public company.

San Carlos, Calif.-based Presto finished the fiscal year ended June 30 with revenue of $26.1 million, a 14.1% decrease from $30.4 million the year prior. Its loss of $34.5 million narrowed from a $56.3 million loss in the 2022 fiscal year.

“We have developed strong relationships with new customers and are making great strides in developing our [artificial intelligence] technology,” Xavier Casanova, Presto chief executive, said in a statement. “We’re still in the early stages of capitalizing on the significant opportunity ahead of us and are implementing a focused plan for success in this growing and dynamic market.”

Part of that opportunity is the company’s voice-ordering system that relies on AI tech. In August, Presto said 13 quick-serve restaurant-franchisee groups were using or poised to use the technology. Presto Voice uses conversational AI, which learns and adapts to human speech patterns using data, machine learning, and natural-language processing to create a human-like conversation. As a result, customers do not have to modify their speech patterns to interact with the software. Presto says Presto Voice fully automates orders placed at the drive-through window, which reduces the need for staff to take orders.

Presto also touts that the locations that have voice-ordering agreements but where Presto Voice has not yet been installed have an estimated annual revenue potential of $17 million. If the technology were fully expanded across all of the locations of these restaurant groups, the revenue potential would expand to $100 million, the company estimates.

In related news, Lunchbox, a New York City-based restaurant technology provider, selected Finix Payments Inc. to process online payments for its portfolio of enterprise restaurant clients.

In addition to payment processing, the combo will provide an expedited onboarding service for restaurants that accept online orders and mobile checkout. San Francisco-based Finix announced in May it completed direct connections to the four major U.S. card brands.