• by Todd Wasserman , May 22, 2023

Wendy’s has partnered with Pipedream, a hyperlogistics company, to deliver digital food orders from the kitchen to designated parking spots within seconds.

Deepak Ajmani, U.S. Chief Operations Officer at Wendy’s, said the goal is to satisfy customers. "Pipedream's Instant Pickup system has the potential to unlock greater mobile order speed of service and accuracy, enabling us to consistently deliver hot and fresh Wendy's products to our fans," he said in a press statement.

The technology uses autonomous robots to transport the meals underground and deliver them to the car-side Instant Pickup portal.

Pipedream’s autonomous robots will travel through tunnels to deliver customers’ orders. The system uses “temperature-controlled delivery” that will keep the food from getting too warm or too cold and lets customers order and receive food without coming in the restaurant.

Wendy’s hasn’t introduced the technology to any of its restaurants yet. The company says it’s planning to test the system at an existing restaurant later this year.

The chain’s mobile orders are growing. Wendy’s told Gizmodo that 11% of its March 2023 orders were digital. Currently, 80% of Wendy’s orders come via drive-thru. Wendy’s recently revealed it is partnering with Google Cloud to test a drive-thru AI in Columbus, Ohio.