CloudKitchens
CloudKitchens operates delivery-focused commercial kitchens and develops software, virtual restaurant, property, and automation services for food businesses.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
CloudKitchens is a Los Angeles-based food-service infrastructure company focused on the delivery economy. Established in 2016, it operates shared commercial kitchen facilities and develops technology intended to help restaurants, food entrepreneurs, consumer packaged goods businesses, caterers, meal-preparation companies, and other food operators produce and sell food without investing in a conventional customer-facing restaurant. Its facilities are commonly described as ghost kitchens or dark kitchens: delivery-oriented production spaces located in areas selected for access to dense customer demand rather than for traditional dining traffic. The company’s business model combines real estate, kitchen operations, software, restaurant concepts, and automation. It acquires or leases underused properties and converts them into multi-unit kitchen centers. Tenants can rent private production spaces equipped with cooking infrastructure and utilities, while CloudKitchens may provide refrigeration, maintenance, janitorial services, pickup support, and technology for managing digital orders. The approach is intended to reduce the capital and operating burden associated with opening a full storefront and to enable restaurant brands to add delivery capacity in urban markets. CloudKitchens is part of City Storage Systems, whose controlling stake was acquired in 2018 by Travis Kalanick, the co-founder and former chief executive of Uber. Kalanick subsequently became CloudKitchens’ chief executive. The company attracted substantial private investment, including a reported $400 million commitment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in 2019 and an $850 million financing round in 2021 that included Microsoft. Reported private-market valuations rose from approximately $5 billion in 2019 to an estimated $15 billion in 2021, although these figures are not public-market valuations and should be treated as period-specific estimates. Its international expansion included the 2019 acquisition of London-based FoodStars and later acquisitions or operations in Latin America, including Mexico’s Nano and Colombia’s Cocinas Ocultas. In Brazil, related operations have used the Kitchen Central name. By 2022, reports described the company as having acquired approximately 40 properties in 24 cities, spending more than $130 million and employing more than 4,000 people worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for food delivery and provided favorable conditions for the company’s expansion, although the business later closed some locations and reduced headcount as it pursued cost reductions. Technology is a major part of the broader offering. Otter, originally developed for internal use, consolidates orders from multiple delivery platforms and has expanded into point-of-sale terminals, kitchen-display systems, and ordering kiosks. CloudKitchens has also developed or supported workplace food lockers through Picnic, restaurant robotics through Lab 37, enterprise location services through ProFoods, and virtual restaurant concepts through Future Foods. These ventures extend the company beyond renting kitchen space into software, brand creation, automation, and food-service infrastructure. In 2024, Kalanick publicly discussed an “Internet Food Court” concept centered on highly automated, densely located food production and delivery, with an ambition of achieving delivery times of less than 15 minutes. The concept reflects CloudKitchens’ broader strategy of combining urban real estate, standardized kitchen units, digital ordering, and robotics. The company has historically maintained limited public communications, so information about its finances, governance, facility count, and current geographic footprint remains less transparent than for listed restaurant or technology companies.
History
CloudKitchens was established in 2016 by Diego Berdakin and Sky Dayton, with an initial facility in Los Angeles. It emerged as part of the wider shift toward online ordering and delivery-led restaurant operations. Instead of building conventional restaurants around dining rooms and prominent street locations, the company developed production-oriented kitchen centers in properties that could serve delivery demand efficiently. A major ownership change occurred in 2018, when Travis Kalanick acquired a controlling stake in City Storage Systems, CloudKitchens’ parent company. Kalanick became chief executive and helped give the business a high-profile technology and venture-capital identity, while its operating model remained grounded in commercial real estate and food production. The company’s strategy was to acquire or repurpose underutilized buildings, subdivide them into kitchen units, and provide the physical and digital infrastructure required by delivery-focused food operators. CloudKitchens raised significant private capital during its expansion. The company reportedly received $400 million from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in 2019. That year it also expanded internationally through the acquisition of FoodStars, a London-based shared-kitchen operator, and pursued operations or acquisitions in Latin America, including Nano in Mexico and Cocinas Ocultas in Colombia. Related operations in Brazil have used the Kitchen Central name. Private-market reports placed the company’s valuation at about $5 billion in 2019 and an estimated $15 billion in 2021. In 2021, it reportedly raised a further $850 million in a financing round that included Microsoft. These figures describe private financing and valuation estimates rather than audited public-company disclosures. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated consumer reliance on food delivery and supported the company’s growth. By 2022, descriptions of the business indicated roughly 40 acquired properties in 24 cities, more than $130 million in expenditure, and a global workforce exceeding 4,000 people. The company’s model served both independent operators and established restaurant chains, with facilities designed to support brands such as Sweetgreen, The Halal Guys, Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s, and Burger King. CloudKitchens also developed local operating identities and complementary ventures rather than relying solely on facility rentals. Its technology portfolio includes Otter, a platform that consolidates orders from multiple delivery services and provides tools for order management, point-of-sale operations, kitchen displays, kiosks, and data analysis. The platform began as an internal tool and was later offered to restaurants outside CloudKitchens facilities. Other initiatives included Picnic, which used smart food lockers for workplace meals; Lab 37, a robotics and automation group; Future Foods, which created and licensed virtual restaurant concepts; ProFoods, which helped restaurant and enterprise clients evaluate locations; and Launch.co, an incubator associated with food-delivery entrepreneurship. The company later faced pressure to improve efficiency. In 2023 it closed several locations and reduced its workforce. Competitive pressure was visible in the broader sector: Kitchen United raised substantial capital in 2022 but subsequently exited much of the competition and sold real-estate assets in late 2023. CloudKitchens also became involved in legal controversy when the salad chain Mixt sued it in 2024 over alleged resale of the chain’s products. CloudKitchens historically communicated sparingly in public. That changed to some extent in 2024, when Kalanick discussed an “Internet Food Court” model based on automation, dense urban placement, and delivery targets of under 15 minutes. The concept illustrates the company’s continuing attempt to integrate real estate, software, virtual brands, and robotics into a single food-service platform. Because CloudKitchens remains privately held and publishes limited formal information, its current facility count, financial performance, leadership roster, and market-by-market operations are not fully transparent.
- 2024
Internet Food Court concept is presented
[1]The company publicly discusses a more automated delivery model designed for dense urban and workplace districts.
- 2023
Cost reduction and site closures
[1]CloudKitchens closes several sites and lays off workers while seeking to reduce operating costs.
- 2022
Reported expansion to dozens of properties
[1]Public descriptions report approximately 40 acquired properties in 24 cities and a workforce of more than 4,000.
- 2021
New financing and CFO appointment
[1]The company reportedly raises $850 million in a financing round involving Microsoft, while John Curran becomes chief financial officer.
- 2019
International expansion and major investment
[1]CloudKitchens acquires FoodStars in London, expands into Latin America, and reportedly receives $400 million from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
- 2018
Travis Kalanick takes control of the parent company
[1]Kalanick acquires a controlling stake in City Storage Systems and becomes chief executive of CloudKitchens.
- 2016
CloudKitchens is founded
[1]Diego Berdakin and Sky Dayton establish the company and open its first reported facility in Los Angeles.
Products and positioning
A vertically integrated infrastructure provider for delivery-led food businesses, combining repurposed urban real estate, shared production kitchens, restaurant software, virtual brands, and automation.
Commercial kitchen infrastructure · 2016
CloudKitchens shared kitchen facilities
Private production kitchens located within shared facilities and rented to restaurants, food brands, caterers, meal-preparation companies, and other operators. The sites are designed primarily for delivery and pickup rather than conventional dining. Services may include cooking equipment, utilities, refrigeration, maintenance, janitorial support, and limited front-of-house assistance.
Restaurant software
Otter
A restaurant technology suite that consolidates orders from multiple delivery platforms and helps operators manage workflows and sales information. Its capabilities have expanded beyond order aggregation to include point-of-sale terminals, kitchen-display systems, ordering kiosks, and related operational tools.
Virtual restaurant brands
Future Foods
A virtual-brand business that creates and licenses delivery-oriented restaurant concepts for operators inside and outside CloudKitchens facilities. It supplies brand positioning and marketing support, including food photography, allowing operators to test additional menus without establishing separate traditional storefronts.
Workplace food service
Picnic
A workplace meal service based on smart food lockers. The concept allows employees to order meals from multiple restaurants through a shared transaction and collect them from an on-site locker system.
Restaurant robotics
Lab 37
CloudKitchens’ robotics and automation initiative, focused on infrastructure for food preparation and restaurant operations. Its reported projects include a Bowl Builder designed to prepare as many as 200 meals per hour without direct human intervention.
Location and development services
ProFoods
A service intended to help enterprises and restaurant brands identify and develop suitable new locations, extending CloudKitchens’ real-estate and market-selection capabilities beyond its own facilities.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Internet Food Court
United States · Dense urban and workplace districts
A public concept presented by Travis Kalanick that combines automated food production, densely located kitchen infrastructure, and rapid delivery, with a stated ambition of delivery times below 15 minutes.
Outcome. Publicly presented concept; broader commercial rollout and final performance are not established by the available source.
Brand decisions
2024
Development of the Internet Food Court modelProduct launchBackground
CloudKitchens continued seeking differentiation through automation and tightly integrated delivery infrastructure.
Action taken
Travis Kalanick publicly presented a concept linking automated kitchens, dense urban locations, and rapid delivery.
Aftermath
The concept reinforced CloudKitchens’ positioning as a technology and infrastructure company rather than only a kitchen-space landlord.
2023
Cost-reduction restructuringStrategyBackground
The company faced pressure to improve efficiency after rapid expansion and changing conditions in food delivery.
Action taken
CloudKitchens closed several locations and reduced its workforce.
Aftermath
The restructuring reduced the company’s physical and staffing footprint, although its longer-term operating effect is not established in the reference.
2019
Acquisition-led international expansionM&ABackground
CloudKitchens sought to build an international network of delivery-oriented kitchen facilities.
Action taken
The company acquired London-based FoodStars and expanded through operations or acquisitions in Latin America.
Aftermath
The business gained local operating footprints, including FoodStars in the United Kingdom and related brands such as Kitchen Central in Brazil.
2018
Change in control under Travis KalanickM&ABackground
CloudKitchens was operating within City Storage Systems as the delivery-kitchen market attracted technology and venture investment.
Action taken
Travis Kalanick acquired a controlling stake in the parent company and became CloudKitchens’ chief executive.
Aftermath
The company expanded its capital raising, international operations, software portfolio, and public profile.
Reported acquisition price. $150 million (2018)
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
CloudKitchens receives $400 million investment[2]
Reported:
CloudKitchens received a $400 million investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund, according to people familiar with the situation. The agreement was completed in January; the source does not specify the year of completion.
Sources2 sources
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