Circus SE, a German AI and robotics company focused on solutions for the food service industry, has announced pre-orders amounting to EUR 1.1 billion in potential recurring revenue for its AI-based SaaS product, CircusAI. With 8,400 units pre-ordered shortly after market entry, the company aims to address labor shortages in the EUR 2.6 trillion food service sector through AI-powered autonomous systems. Circus intends to build on this demand by expanding its AI capabilities, partly through acquisitions of emerging AI technologies.
The company, listed on Xetra under the ticker CA1, plans to execute its first AI-focused acquisition in the fourth quarter of this year. These acquisitions aim to enhance the functionality of CircusAI and increase the platform’s adaptability and predictive capabilities, elements the company views as critical for supporting the industry’s labor and operational challenges. CircusAI, trained on a substantial dataset comprising over 200 million data points, autonomously manages over two billion recipes and continuously adapts to changing conditions. The platform’s extensive dataset is cited as one of the largest in the food-service AI sector, positioning the system to offer advanced automation and flexibility to clients worldwide.
Circus’s AI-driven systems represent a response to the increasing demand for automation solutions in food service, where labor shortages are projected to continue. CEO Nikolas Bullwinkel, who previously held a role at Flink, remarked on the transformative potential of AI and robotics in addressing the sector’s labor demands and operational complexities. He emphasized the company’s commitment to integrating new AI technologies to reinforce Circus’s market position and drive further innovation.
This expansion reflects broader trends in the food service industry, where automation and AI-based systems are increasingly viewed as essential tools for ensuring sustainability and operational efficiency. With projected demand for over 80 million autonomous AI robots across the sector globally, Circus’s investment in its AI capabilities aligns with a growing reliance on advanced robotics to maintain industry productivity amid significant workforce challenges.
