Miso Robotics Enhances Miso AI Platform to Include Frying Skills, Releases Pilot Program Results from Dodger Stadium

NSF International issues full certification for kitchen assistant product line to prepare food in commercial kitchens

PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Miso Robotics, a leading robotics and artificial intelligence solutions company, today announced its cloud-connected Miso AI platform now enables the company’s autonomous robotic kitchen assistants to perform frying cooking tasks. In addition, Miso Robotics’ kitchen assistant product line has received full certification by NSF International for meeting sanitation standards for commercial kitchen equipment and secured an ETL Listed Mark by Intertek for meeting UL electrical safety standards.

The company has been piloting Flippy as a frying assistant since July 30 at the Chick ‘n Tots stand in Dodger Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Flippy has helped stadium team members consistently cook and serve more than ten thousand pounds of fresh chicken tenders and crispy tater tots to Dodgers fans, producing up to eighty baskets of food per hour.

“The robotic kitchen assistant helps us more quickly and safely cook perfectly crispy chicken tenders and tater tots,” said Robin Rosenberg, Vice President and Chef de Cuisine for Levy. “It’s amazing to see the kitchen assistant and team members working together, and the consistency of product is incredible.”

Stationed in front of the fryer, Flippy assists with the frying process using three key Miso AI platform features: Miso See, Miso Serve and Miso Move. Miso See enables the six-axis industrial robotic arm to properly identify and locate food, cookware and cooking utensils, Miso Serve equips it to make optimal cooking decisions in real-time and Miso Move provides robotics control for safe and efficient grilling, frying and preparing food as assigned. Each allows Flippy to assist with picking up baskets and placing them in the fryer, gently shaking baskets in the oil and monitoring cooking time in addition to hanging baskets to drain excess oil, placing them at a designated station for temperature testing and skimming the fry oil. This permits team members to dedicate more time to food preparation and assembly as well as to improving the fan experience.

“New technologies at large scale venues and events like this need to add value for both guests and team members,” said Jaime Faulkner, CEO of E15. “Working with Miso, we were able to create a process that both delivers high quality food more quickly, and gives kitchen team members a chance to hone sought after skills working with robotics and automation.”

David Zito, cofounder and chief executive officer at Miso Robotics added, “Dodger Stadium is an ideal location to pilot our technology with a key demographic that expects the type of quality food and service we have developed Flippy to assist in fulfilling. Levy, E15 and the LA Dodgers have been incredible partners during this process; the tremendous insight we have gained during this pilot has enabled us to make improvements that ensure stadium employees benefit most from our collaborative solution.”

Flippy will continue frying at the Chick ‘n Tots stand at Dodger Stadium through the end of the 2018 LA Dodgers season. Miso Robotics, Levy and E15 will continue to plan additional opportunities during the offseason and Miso Robotics will further expand the capabilities of its autonomous robotic kitchen assistants, as well as applications for Miso AI.

Editors Notes: Miso Robotics Media Kit with video and images available here.

About Miso Robotics

Miso Robotics (misorobotics.com) is revolutionizing the restaurant and prepared food industries with innovative robotics and AI solutions. Miso was founded with a mission to leverage AI technology to help chefs cook food perfectly and consistently and enable restaurants to increase labor productivity, reduce costs and drive profitability while improving the overall dining experience. Miso employs a respected team of roboticists, engineers and industrial designers from Caltech, Cornell, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, Olin, Harvey Mudd, Art Center, NASA, Tesla, and SpaceX.

About Levy

The disruptor in defining the premium sports and entertainment dining experience, Levy is recognized as one of the fastest growing and most critically acclaimed hospitality companies. Named one of the 10 most innovative companies in sports by Fast Company magazine, Levy’s diverse portfolio includes award-winning restaurants, iconic sports and entertainment venues, and convention centers as well as the Super Bowl, GRAMMY Awards, PGA Championship, US Open Tennis Tournament, Kentucky Derby, and NHL, MLB, NBA All-Star Games. For more, visit www.levyrestaurants.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

About E15 Group

E15 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Levy, working with some of the most well-known organizations in sports and entertainment, and beyond. E15 brings together professionals from the fields of economics, mathematics, statistics, accounting and finance, psychology and behavioral science, and computer science and emerging technology, applying an analytical mindset to help partners enhance performance across all facets of operations.

 

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Flippy To Begin Working Full Day Shifts At CaliBurger

PASADENA, Calif., June 28, 2018 (Newswire.com)-Cali Group, a holding company with ownership stakes in a portfolio of synergistic food and food technology companies, announced today that its restaurant operating subsidiary, CaliBurger, will begin running “Flippy” at its Pasadena location for full day shifts. Flippy is the world’s first autonomous robotic kitchen assistant developed by Miso Robotics that works alongside kitchen staff to assist in consistently preparing freshly cooked burgers. Over the course of eight weeks, Flippy has been operating during lunch hours and will begin cooking from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily starting today.

“We have demonstrated that Flippy can work on our standard equipment and meet high volume demand with substantially greater cooking consistency than our kitchens that have not yet installed Flippy,” said Tony Lomelino, Chief Technology Officer of CaliBurger. “Additionally, we have developed a program to retrain our restaurant staff to serve as ‘Chef Techs’ that work alongside Flippy and monitor the related software and hardware systems. We expect these skills will be useful for employees across our chain to secure higher income jobs that require human / robotic interaction in the future restaurant industry and other industries.”

Since Flippy was first piloted in March, it has cooked thousands of burger patties cooked consistently for customers. Based on the success of this first commercial program, CaliBurger will begin deploying Flippy at additional CaliBurger locations later this year and plans to install Flippy in most of its domestic locations by the end of 2019.

“The collaboration between CaliBurger and Miso Robotics demonstrates how AI-driven robotics will improve food quality, decrease food production costs, and improve the lives of workers in the food industry,” said John Miller, CEO of Cali Group. “We will continue to invest in both companies, with the goal of developing other AI-driven robotic solutions to assist with other tasks at CaliBurger.”

ABOUT CALI GROUP

Cali Group is a holding company that comprises significant ownership positions in various technology companies developing software products to digitize and automate the brick and mortar world. Cali Group uses CaliBurger, a global restaurant chain that it operates as a subsidiary, to prove out the viability of new technologies for the restaurant and retail industries. For more information, visit www.thecaligroup.com.

ABOUT MISO ROBOTICS

Miso Robotics (www.misorobotics.com) is revolutionizing the restaurant and prepared food industries with innovative robotics and artificial intelligence solutions. Miso was founded with a mission to leverage AI technology to help chefs cook food perfectly and consistently and enable restaurants to increase labor productivity, reduce costs and drive profitability while improving the overall dining experience. Miso employs a respected team of roboticists, engineers and industrial designers from Caltech, Cornell, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Art Center and UNC Chapel Hill.

Source: Cali Group

 

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Kitchen United Announces Pasadena Location Opening, Unveils Restaurant Partners

Award-Winning Chefs and Iconic Restaurants, Including Canter’s Deli, Neal Fraser’s Fritzi Coop and Mama Musubi Among the First Concepts to Debut in Pasadena

PASADENA, Calif., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Culinary on-demand startup Kitchen United today announced the grand opening of its 12,000-square-foot local food hub in Pasadena, Calif. The facility helps food businesses expand their delivery, takeout and catering operations. At opening, the space will house 15 different concepts, specially optimized to take advantage of KU’s delivery-centric infrastructure. This facility is the first opened by the company and plans are in place to open nationwide in the coming year.

Kitchen United houses several larger regional and national brands, including concepts from Canter’s Deli, Neal Fraser’sFritzi Coop, Mama Musubi, Northern California better burger chain, Barney’s Gourmet Burgers and vegan startup The Pizza Plant. As the company expands across the country, locations are selected by converging demographic data with demand indicators such as delivery application usage and unmet demand indicators as well as feedback from national and regional restaurant chains targeting expansion through Kitchen United’s facilities.

“We quickly recognized that restaurants needed much more than access to a kitchen to make these specialized ‘outposts’ work,” said Jim Collins, CEO of Kitchen United. “So we have designed a unique solution, providing a combination of technology, equipment, marketing assistance and workflow solutions specifically optimized to ensure partner success. We’re thrilled to be working with a growing suite of impressive food innovators supplying not just the commercial kitchen space they need, but the resources and support to bring their vision to fruition.”

Kitchen United’s mission is to enable both established and new restaurant concepts to adapt to rapid changes in the restaurant industry driven by the explosive growth of consumer demand for delivery. Some restaurants have already seen the impact, with as much as 30% of order volume coming from outside of the dining room, and this trend is just beginning, with most industry analysts projecting multi-fold growth in the coming years.

“Kitchen United is transforming the food business and helping to build the future of restaurants,” said Carol Kwan, half of the brother-sister team behind Mama Musubi, a well-known Los Angeles based catering company specializing in Japanese cuisine. “Thus far, we’ve only had the capacity to be at farmers markets and popups. With Kitchen United, we’re able expand our reach through delivery while still focusing on what we love: serving our existing customer base and testing new ideas without having to worry about the operational nitty gritty that would be involved in opening our own space.”

Conceived and built by restaurant industry veterans from companies like Taco Bell, McDonalds and Wolfgang Puck, Kitchen United was designed with delivery in mind. Every process involved in the preparation, cooking, and delivery of food is optimized in the tech-enabled establishment through kitchen automation and ordering solutions seamlessly integrating most popular mobile and online delivery platforms. Restaurants save costs through shared back of house labor for non-core functions such as receiving and scullery, and facilities are designed with the new “diner” in mind, providing specified delivery driver parking as well as easy access consumer pickup. Moreover, Kitchen United has dedicated staff to work with restaurants to continuously improve the consumer experience and everything from food preparation to packaging is scrutinized in the process.

Kitchen United today also announced it has raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from Cali Group, Avista Investments and other private investors, which will be used to accelerate growth and fuel expansion in key markets in the U.S.

About Kitchen United
Based in Pasadena, Calif., Kitchen United is on a mission to evolve the ecosystem for food enthusiasts and restaurant operators. Their back-of-house infrastructure empowers food businesses to innovate, dream, and grow. For more information visit www.kitchenunited.com.

 

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Cali Group To Present POP IQ Face Gateway On Stage At NRA Show

Face Gateway Platform Can Be Used To Authenticate Identity For Building Entry, Loyalty Participation, And Payments

 

May 18, 2018 – Cali Group announced today that it will demonstrate it’s POP IQ platform at the NRA Show in Chicago on Monday, May 21.  During a Super Session titled “The Future of Restaurants,” Cali Group CEO John Miller will describe how Cali Group is investing in new technologies such as social gaming, artificial intelligence, robotics, and internet of things.  As part of the session, Mr. Miller will demonstrate Cali Group’s newest innovation, a universal gateway for face and hand gesture validation.  With a restaurant ordering kiosk on stage, he will show how the POP IQ software can quickly enroll new customers in the gateway and be used by existing POP IQ members for loyalty activation and payment without any cards or devices.

 

The POP IQ platform is being commercialized as a universal authentication gateway for the “built world” by a majority owned subsidiary of Cali Group.  The gateway is currently being used by merchants in the Los Angeles area.  Once a consumer registers for POP IQ through a single channel powered by POP IQ, the consumer can use the system to authenticate himself or herself for any face-based application at any location that is powered by POP IQ.  A video illustrating how the gateway works for various applications can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/270622870.

 

“Our vision of the future is that every day life will be dominated by use of face to authenticate identity,” said John Miller, CEO of Cali Group, the parent company of POP IQ.  “Plastic credit cards, parking lot entry permits, gym membership bar code scanners, and concert tickets will disappear, and there will be a universal platform that consumers subscribe to and merchants utilize to authenticate identity.”

 

The POP IQ face gateway does not rely on images for identification; rather, it works by taking a digital fingerprint of a face and matching it against digital fingerprints of registered members.  POP IQ does not keep or use images of its registered members.  Use of facial recognition technology for payment processing is expected to reduce identity and financial theft, increase transaction processing speed, and increase convenience for consumers by eliminating the need for physical and mobile wallets.

 

 

ABOUT CALI GROUP 

Cali Group is a holding company that comprises significant ownership positions in various technology companies developing software products to digitize and automate the brick and mortar world. Cali Group uses CaliBurger, a global restaurant chain that it operates as a subsidiary, to prove out the viability of new technologies for the restaurant and retail industries.  For more information, visit www.thecaligroup.com.

 

ABOUT POP IQ

POP IQ is a universal gateway for face and hand gesture validation in the built world.  For more information, visit http://pop-iq.com.

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Miso Robotics Secures $10 Million in Series B Funding Led by Acacia Research

PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Miso Robotics, the leading robotics and artificial intelligence solutions company for restaurants and food providers, today announced it has secured $10 million in Series B financing led by Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTG). Strategic investors participating in this funding round include Levy, the industry-leading sports and entertainment hospitality company, OpenTable’s chief technology officer Joseph Essas, and founding investor Cali Group, as well as six members of Cali Group’s management team and its subsidiary company, CaliBurger. Miso Robotics will use the new capital to expand its suite of collaborative, adaptable robotic kitchen assistants and to broaden applications for Miso AI, the company’s machine learning cloud platform.

We are thrilled by the growing confidence in Miso Robotics and remain committed to fulfilling our goal of modernizing the $3 trillion global prepared foods industry,” said David Zito, co-founder and CEO of Miso Robotics. “Acacia’s patent expertise and our strategic investors will be invaluable as we continue to commercialize our cutting edge technology.”

Miso Robotics’ suite of collaborative, adaptable robotic kitchen assistants and Miso AI platform are designed to boost productivity and improve food quality. This also enables restaurants and food providers to accommodate increasing customer expectations for fresher ingredients prepared quickly and consistently while keeping the cost of food down.

“The company’s unique position as a pioneer in autonomous solutions for the commercial kitchen will not only transform the modern restaurant but also will change the way we think about how food is produced and served,” said Rob Stewart, President of Acacia Research.

Miso Robotics has also appointed three members to its advisory board, including Joseph Essas, CTO of OpenTable, who will serve as a key restaurant technology advisor, Charless C. Fowlkes, associate professor of University of California at Irvine Department of Computer Science, and Dr. Aaron Ames, a world renowned roboticist and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Bren Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, who will both serve as machine learning and artificial intelligence advisors.

The company will soon debut “Flippy” at CaliBurger’s Pasadena location and will roll out the autonomous robotic kitchen assistant to more than 50 CaliBurger restaurants worldwide by the end of 2019.

Editors Notes: Miso Robotics Media Kit with video and images available here.

About Miso Robotics

Miso Robotics (www.misorobotics.com) is revolutionizing the restaurant and prepared food industries with innovative robotics and artificial intelligence solutions. Miso was founded with a mission to leverage AI technology to help chefs cook food perfectly and consistently and enable restaurants to increase labor productivity, reduce costs and drive profitability while improving the overall dining experience. Miso employs a respected team of roboticists, engineers and industrial designers from Caltech, Cornell, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Art Center and UNC Chapel Hill.

About Acacia Research Corporation

Founded in 1993, Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTG) is an industry leader in patent licensing and partners with inventors and patent owners to unlock the financial value in their patented inventions. Acacia bridges the gap between invention and application, facilitating efficiency and delivering monetary rewards to the patent owner. Acacia also leverages its patent expertise and background to invest and partner in emerging disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. For more information, visit: www.acaciaresearch.com.

About Cali Group

Cali Group is a holding company that comprises CaliBurger, a global restaurant chain, and its affiliated technology companies. Cali Group’s C-Vision platform ties together the various software products developed by its affiliated companies to enable the entire restaurant to be controlled from one operating system run on a tablet. Cali Group uses its CaliBurger restaurant chain to demonstrate proof of concept and lead the commercial adoption of the C-Vision platform.

About Levy

A disrupter in the premium sports and entertainment dining experience, Levy is recognized as one of the fastest growing and most critically acclaimed hospitality companies. Named one of the 10 most innovative companies in sports by Fast Company magazine, Levy’s diverse portfolio includes award-winning restaurants, iconic sports and entertainment venues, and convention centers, as well as the Super Bowl, Grammy Awards, PGA Championship, US Open Tennis Tournament, Kentucky Derby, and NHL, MLB, NBA All-Star Games. Levy subsidiary companies include E15 Group (technology and analytics), Curiology (experience design and innovation) and Rank + Rally (retail). For more, visit www.levyrestaurants.com.

 

 

 

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Flippy, the World’s First Autonomous Robotic Kitchen Assistant, Now Cooks Burgers at CaliBurger in Pasadena, California

PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Miso Robotics, the leading robotics and artificial intelligence solutions company, today announced the public debut of ‘Flippy,’ the world’s first autonomous robotic kitchen assistant. Flippy will begin working alongside kitchen staff at CaliBurger’s Pasadena, California location during lunchtime by flipping burger patties and removing them from the grill when cooked to order

Aiming to augment commercial kitchen operations with advanced technology, Miso Robotics developed Miso AI, a cloud-connected learning platform that powers industrial robotic arms. Miso AI combines 3D, thermal and regular vision to automatically detect when raw burger patties are placed on the grill and monitors each one in real-time throughout the cooking process. As the patties cook, Miso AI displays the cooking time on a screen that also alerts kitchen staff when to place cheese on top or when to dress a burger. It also enables Flippy to switch from using a spatula for raw meat and one for cooked meat. In addition, Flippy has the ability to clean spatulas while cooking and to wipe the surface of the grill with a scraper.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my incredibly talented team for their hard work in bringing Flippy to life and we are just getting started,” said David Zito, co-founder and chief executive officer of Miso Robotics. “Our mission is to improve working conditions of chefs and line cooks with assistants, not replace them. Anyone who’s ever worked in a restaurant knows how hard the work is and the value of extra hands and that’s exactly what we built.”

Miso Robotics understands the many challenges restaurants face, including turnover rate and increasing demand for prepared foods. In 2016, the team partnered with CaliBurger, Cali Group’s restaurant operating division, to develop a cost-effective and highly efficient solution leveraging their expertise in robotics and artificial intelligence. This resulted in the concept for Flippy, which was specifically designed to operate in an existing commercial kitchen layout and to serve alongside kitchen staff to safely and efficiently fulfill a variety of cooking tasks

John Miller, chairman of Cali Group, added, “The deployment of Flippy in CaliBurger restaurants represents a major milestone in helping our staff produce mouthwatering burgers more consistently and in a timely manner. The ease of integration into our existing kitchen lines will also allow us to quickly install Flippy in more locations nationwide.”

“I can’t think of anything more rewarding than working on something so challenging that also has the potential to be impactful,” said Dr. Ryan Sinnet, co-founder and chief technology officer of Miso Robotics. “Our team poured their hearts into getting Flippy ready to cook for people and I’m so proud of the grit we displayed to accomplish this in record time.”

For more information on when Flippy will be operating, visit CaliBurger’s Pasadena website.

Editors Notes: Miso Robotics Media Kit with video and images available here.

About Miso Robotics

Miso Robotics (misorobotics.com) is revolutionizing the restaurant and prepared food industries with innovative robotics and artificial intelligence AI solutions. Miso was founded with a mission to leverage AI technology to help chefs cook food perfectly and consistently and enable restaurants to increase labor productivity, reduce costs and drive profitability while improving the overall dining experience. Miso employs a respected team of roboticists, engineers and industrial designers from Caltech, Cornell, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Art Center and UNC Chapel Hill.

About Cali Group

Cali Group is a holding company that comprises CaliBurger, a global restaurant chain, and its affiliated technology companies. Cali Group’s C-Vision platform ties together the various software products developed by its affiliated companies to enable the entire restaurant to be controlled from one operating system run on a tablet. Cali Group uses its CaliBurger restaurant chain to demonstrate proof of concept and lead the commercial adoption of the C-Vision platform.

 

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CALI GROUP TO DEMONSTRATE ITS “MOBILE ADVERTISING” PLATFORM TO MARKET CALIBURGER BRAND AND DRIVE STORE SALES

POPpack’s Machine Vision Software Offers a Pay Per View Advertising Model On Wearable Displays

PASADENA, June 30th – Cali Group announced today that its subsidiary, CaliBurger, will begin marketing campaigns in July using POPpacks, the first “mobile advertising” platform based on machine vision. The campaigns will take place around CaliBurger’s restaurants in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Maryland. Through POPpack’s automated marketplace, CaliBurger will deliver customized messages to digital displays integrated into backpacks worn by Millennials and Centennials walking within hundreds of yards of CaliBurger’s locations. POPpack’s proprietary machine vision system (leveraging the camera on the display) offers brands like CaliBurger the ability to pay based on the number of people that see the messages. Similar to Uber, as shown in the video, “walkers” can earn income through the mobile App.

“Our mission at Cali Group is to use new technologies to transform the restaurant and retail industries and aggregate data about the offline world,” said John Miller, Chairman and CEO of Cali Group. “Cali Group invested in POPpacks to enable restaurants, retailers, and brands to have personal brand ambassadors deliver messages in places that have been traditionally inaccessible.”

The initial launch of the platform allows walkers to buy a custom POPpacks backpack, insert their iPad, and download the POPpacks app to begin making money. As featured on Episode 2 of Apple’s new TV show, Planet of the Apps, POPpacks is also developing its own flexible display hardware integrated into backpacks that is low cost, daylight readable, shatterproof, and can last for months without needing to be charged. In addition to POPpacks, Cali Group also has significant ownership positions in Super League Gaming, FunWall, and Miso Robotics.

ABOUT CALI GROUP

Cali Group is a holding company that comprises CaliBurger, a global restaurant chain, and its affiliated technology companies. Cali Group is pioneering software systems for restaurant and retail operators to drive revenue, lower costs, collect data, and improve operations. Cali Group uses its CaliBurger restaurant chain to demonstrate proof of concept and lead the commercial adoption of the software products developed by its sister companies.

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CALI GROUP ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL FINANCING FOR SUPER LEAGUE GAMING

Over $28M of Capital Raised Into Cali Group’s E-Sports Spin Out, Including Follow

On Investment By Cali Group

June 29, 2017 – Cali Group announced today that Super League Gaming (“SLG”), the e-sports platform for every day gamers, has received $15 million in Series C funding from Nickelodeon (a division of Viacom), DMG Entertainment, a SoftBank managed fund, Toba Capital, premier e- sports entity aXiomatic, and various professional sports owners. Cali Group also invested in the financing to increase its ownership position in Super League and become the largest

shareholder. The press release describing the SLG financing is at https://goo.gl/DfJfjA. Earlier in the week, SLG and DMG Entertainment announced a strategic partnership to take the Super League platform to a global audience, including launching the brand in various cities in China. The press release can be viewed at https://goo.gl/g8d6hj.

Super League was spun out of Cali Group in 2014 to bring gamers of all ages from around the world together for recreational and competitive gaming, content creation and sharing, and social networking. Super League has pioneered city teams in e-sports and established movie theaters as the ultimate arenas to experience some of the world’s most popular e-sports games in a new and social context. SLG has raised approximately $28M million in funding since 2014. Earlier investors include Cinemark, ET Capital, and Quadrant.

“Cali Group’s family of companies are focused on creating new technologies to transform the restaurant and retail industries,” said John Miller, Chairman and CEO of Cali Group. “We use our growing CaliBurger restaurant chain to demonstrate how technology platforms (such as social gaming, internet of things, machine vision, artificial intelligence, and robotics) can be used in the offline world, and then capitalize companies to build businesses around these proven

concepts. Offline commerce still represents 90% of the economy, and our collective goal at Cali Group is to aggregate offline data and link it to the online world.”

Cali Group also has significant ownership positions in FunWall, POPpacks, and Miso Robotics.

ABOUT CALI GROUP

Cali Group comprises CaliBurger, a global restaurant chain, and its affiliated technology companies. Cali Group is pioneering restaurant and retail operating systems that include software for: managing interactive gaming (online and offline); programming wearable digital signage; automated processes related to ordering and cooking; intelligent delivery of food from kitchen to customers in local neighborhoods; real time detection of operating errors and pathogens; and facial recognition systems for loyalty and payment verification.

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CALIBURGER ENTERS ALLIANCE AGREEMENT TO DEVELOP HIGH TECH BRAND IN ASIA PACIFIC

May 18, 2017 – Cali Group announced today that it’s wholly owned subsidiary, CaliBurger, has entered an alliance agreement with a newly formed company backed by private equity firms to relaunch the CaliBurger brand throughout Asia Pacific. Cali APA Limited will be led by Martin Lorenzo, an experienced restaurant operator and investor in Asia. Lorenzo has served as regional franchisee for brands such as Del Monte and Pepsi Cola and has also built his own restaurant brands into massive international chains. Cali APA Limited is also backed by private equity group,

Abuna.

“With CaliBurger’s increasing focus on growth in North America and it’s lead in restaurant technology innovation through its affiliated Cali Group companies, we needed a strong regional partner to manage and build the brand in Asia,” said John Miller, Chairman and CEO of Cali Group. “Martin and his team are the smartest restaurant investors and operators in the region. We look forward to working with them to change the restaurant industry in Asia with our concept and related software systems.”

“CaliBurger is the future of QSR,” said Martin Lorenzo. “The technologies that CaliBurger has been deploying in its North America stores – ranging from FunWall gaming to robotic systems to loyalty program based on facial recognition – will allow us to build a premium burger brand in Asia that is highly differentiated from all others.”

CaliBurger currently has outlets in Greater China, Malaysia, and Philippines. Cali APA
Limited will initially focus on building a new model CaliBurger unit in Southeast Asia that incorporates the most recent designs and systems from North America as well as a new menu with additional localization. Cali APA Limited will build a pilot outlet and training center for the region and will start franchising the brand to qualified franchise partners throughout Asia and Australia later this year.

ABOUT CALIBURGER

CaliBurger is a 21st century classic California burger joint. Our founders are California-bred with global ambitions, bringing the best of California culture, technology, imagery and food to markets that have long craved the famous California style burger. CaliBurger provides a premium quality burger experience at an accessible QSR price
point. CaliBurger now operates in 12 countries. CaliBurger’s products feature the highest quality beef, top-grade chicken, hand-selected vegetables, zero trans-fat oils, sauces made in house, and hand-mixed shakes. Our made-to- order meals are always prepared in open kitchens, and our restaurants incorporate advanced technologies to create a unique dining experience. CaliBurger customers can enjoy a taste of California in an environment that looks, smells, and feels like California. For more information, please visit www.caliburger.com.

ABOUT CALI GROUP

Cali Group comprises CaliBurger, a global restaurant chain, and its affiliated technology companies. Cali Group is pioneering restaurant and retail operating systems that include software for: managing interactive gaming (online and offline); programming wearable digital signage to drive local foot traffic; automated processes related to ordering and cooking; intelligent delivery of food from kitchen to customers in local neighborhoods; real time detection of operating errors and pathogens; and facial recognition systems for loyalty and payment verification.

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CALI GROUP RESTAURANT SUBSIDIARY ENTERS AGREEMENT TO DEVELOP LATIN AMERICA REGION

California-style, Better Burgers Coming Soon To Latin America!

May 5, 2017 – Cali Group announced today that its subsidiary, CaliBurger, has entered an agreement with its existing master franchisee in Mexico to expand the brand throughout Latin America. The regional brand will be managed by a newly formed entity backed by private equity investors, called Cali-LatAm.

“With the growing awareness of the CaliBurger brand and Cali Group restaurant technology innovations in the global restaurant community, we have experienced tremendous interest from restaurant operators in different parts of Latin America,” said John Miller, Chairman and CEO of Cali Group. “While we focus on building new company owned stores in the USA, our partner in Mexico has the infrastructure, training stores, and operating team to support restaurant operators interested in developing CaliBurger units in countries throughout the region. We look forward to working with Cali-LatAm to enhance the restaurant industry in Latin America with our restaurant operating system.”

“We are excited to bring CaliBurger’s premium, Cali-style, better burger to Mexico and to the rest of Latin America,” said Brian Pierce, Partner, Cali-LatAm. “We are passionate about CaliBurger’s superior products, service, and technology, and we’re certain that the CaliBurger brand will be well- received by our guests in Latin America. We look forward to opening CaliBurger restaurants and working diligently to make it a top dining destination.”

In growing the brand beyond Mexico and into Central and South America, Cali-LatAm will seek to form strategic partnerships with best-in-class, multi-unit franchisee candidates to capitalize on CaliBurger’s attractive value proposition. “CaliBurger’s incorporation of the technology platforms developed by its sister companies makes the CaliBurger experience ten times different from any other QSR chain,” said Luis Vidal, Partner, Cali-LatAm. “We expect FunWall, Flippy, the digital loyalty program, and future Cali Group innovations to captivate customers in Latin America seeking the best premium burgers as well as new experiences in dining.” For more information about CaliBurger franchise opportunities in Latin America, please visit www.caliburgermx.com.

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ABOUT CALIBURGER

CaliBurger is a 21st century revival of the classic California burger joint. Our founders are California-bred with global ambitions, bringing the best of California culture, technology, imagery and food to markets that have long craved the famous California style burger. CaliBurger provides a premium quality burger experience at an accessible QSR price point. CaliBurger now operates in 12 countries. CaliBurger’s products feature the highest quality beef, buns baked fresh, top-grade chicken, hand-selected vegetables, zero trans-fat oils, sauces made in house, and hand-mixed

shakes. Our made-to-order meals are always prepared in open kitchens, and our restaurants incorporate advanced technologies to create a unique dining experience. CaliBurger customers can enjoy a taste of California in an environment that looks, smells, and feels like California. For more information, please visit www.caliburger.com.

ABOUT CALI GROUP

Cali Group comprises CaliBurger, a global restaurant chain, and its affiliated technology companies. Cali Group is pioneering restaurant and retail operating systems that include software for: managing interactive gaming (online and offline); programming wearable digital signage to drive local foot traffic; automated processes related to ordering and cooking; intelligent delivery of food from kitchen to customers in local neighborhoods; real time detection of operating errors and pathogens; and facial recognition systems for loyalty and payment verification.

ABOUT CALIMEX AND CALI-LATAM

Based in the U.S. and in Mexico, CaliMex and Cali-LatAm were born to shepherd the growth of business into new and emerging markets. Our partnership encompasses over a century of restaurant and foodservice industry experience at a global scale. CaliMex and Cali-LatAm are the exclusive master franchisees for CaliBurger in Mexico, Central America, and South America. For more information, please visit www.caliburgermx.com, or contact us

at [email protected].

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