New Delhi: Stellar Pizza, a robotic pizza restaurant that can churn out one pizza every 45 seconds, is set to open in spring next year in Los Angeles. The concept is the brainchild of three former SpaceX engineers — Benson Tsai, Brian Langone and James Wahawisan, media reports said. 


Stellar Pizza is different from other robotic delivery services because the robots themselves will make the food. 


The three former SpaceX engineers founded the company in May 2019.Their efforts led to the development of a machine that makes pizza without the ingredients being touched by human hands. The machine is automated, and robots will fabricate the pies based on the chef-created menu, according to a report by Santa Monica Mirror. The pizza making machine will be in operation next year.


Tsai, who is the CEO of Stellar Pizza, spent five years at Elon Musk's SpaceX, designing advanced battery systems for rockets and satellites. 


In order to build an automated, touchless pizza-making machine that fits into the back of a truck, Tsai brought together more than 23 former SpaceX employees, Business Insider reported.




Stellar Pizza was founded under parent company Serve Automation, according to a Forbes report.

How Does Stellar Pizza's Robotic Machine Make Pizzas?

Stellar Pizza's robotic machine has a simple recipe, and can make, bake, and top a pizza in less than five minutes, the Business Insider report said.

The first step is to put a ball of homemade dough into the machine, where the dough gets pressed and moulded into a round shape.

After the dough is ready, the machine puts the sauce and other ingredients on the pizza. 

The raw pizza is then placed inside one of the four high-temperature ovens in the robotic machine. 

A homestyle dough, tomato sauce, and Grande East Coast Mozzarella will be used to make every pizza.


A pizza made using Stellar Pizza's robotic machine (Photo: Instagram/@eatstellarpizza)


SpaceX's former executive chef and director of culinary services Ted Cizma, who formed the rocket company's Food Service program for staff, is one of the employees at Stellar Pizza.

Cizma and Noel Brohner, a pizza consultant and Slow Rise Pizza Co. founder, have teamed up to make high-quality and affordable pizzas for Stellar Pizza.

Customers can also enjoy different flavours offered by Stellar Pizza.

These include a pepperoni or supreme pizza, among other customised toppings such as onions, bacon, chicken, and olives. The next-generation pizza concept features automated mobile kitchens that can cook more than 100 pizzas an hour, according to the Forbes report.

Quoting Tsai in a recent interview, the Forbes report said that the founders and employees at Stellar Pizza are a team of rocket scientists trying to solve food delivery challenges. He added that they wanted to apply their expertise and their solution is building an automated mobile ghost kitchen, or robotic mobile ghost kitchen.

Stellar Pizza has raised $9 million from investors to date, and an additional round is expected soon.

Once the company opens in Spring 2022, the food truck will serve pizzas made by the robotic arms, and customers will be able to order using the company's app, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Additional trucks are planned for locales such as San Diego, California, and Texas.