Food-tech startup Wonder, founded by serial entrepreneur Marc Lore, has raised more than $3 billion and is now valued at more than $9 billion, with Google Ventures among its investors. In an interview cited by CNBC, the company was described as building a new restaurant model by vertically integrating physical food halls with a delivery platform through automated operations. Wonder is also moving toward an initial public offering, and the company expects its valuation to reach $40 billion by 2028.
More than $1 billion spent on acquisitions
Wonder has spent more than $1 billion acquiring other food and delivery platforms. Those deals include the $103 million purchase of meal delivery platform Blue Apron and the $650 million acquisition of delivery platform GrubHub. The company also bought three New York City restaurants, along with brands including Meal Delivery, Zardock, Click, Blue Ribbon Chicken, Mighty Quinn’s BBQ and Salt & Straw.
After that acquisition push, Wonder has expanded its operating footprint to 170 locations.
Spice deal adds automated kitchen capacity
At the end of 2025, Wonder acquired automated kitchen manufacturer Spice for $186 million. Spice developed an "Infinite Makeline" system that can use 68 prepared-food ingredients on a single machine and produce as many as 500 meals per hour.
Marc Lore said the system can cut labor costs by 20%. Wonder is preparing to extend the automated line beyond main dishes to drinks and sauces.
Culinary engineers and food scientists work on quality and process
Wonder has hired dedicated culinary engineers and food scientists to improve food quality and design efficient cooking workflows, including fast steak-searing processes. The teams use automated tools such as high-speed ovens, sous vide baths and fryers to reproduce meal flavors at scale.
Engineers and restaurant staff also helped develop the Infinite Makeline system to handle a range of complex ingredients for large-scale meal production.
Central kitchens prepare ingredients, local stores finish the meals
Wonder uses a model in which prepared ingredients are assembled centrally and finished locally. Sauces, proteins and other ingredients are produced and portioned in central kitchens, then shipped to stores. Once the prepared items arrive, local outlets use high-speed ovens, sous vide baths and automated fryers for final heating and preparation.
The company said all equipment runs on electricity, with no gas or open flame. During peak periods, a store needs only 15 staff members, with a target of completing delivery within 30 minutes.
WonderCreate set for November launch
Wonder plans to launch WonderCreate in November. The platform is aimed at individual food creators, who will be able to build their own food brands for a $10 monthly fee and receive a share of revenue.
The company expects millions of food creators to join the platform over the next five to 10 years.
