Presto signs CKE Franchise StarCorp’s 58 Carl’s Jr. Locations

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Sept. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Presto Automation Inc. (NASDAQ: PRST), one of the largest drive-thru automation technology providers in the hospitality industry, today announced a newly signed agreement that demonstrates the company’s continued momentum and strengths in technology, enterprise sales, integration, and implementation.

Presto signed CKE Franchise Group StarCorp and all of its 58 Carl’s Jr. locations, where it will be the only Voice AI vendor. After a successful and competitive pilot at 2 stores lasting more than 6 months, StarCorp decided to launch Presto Voice at full scale. Presto was able to achieve a 91% upsell offer rate during the pilot period. The companies are planning to jointly roll out these locations in the coming months.

Presto is currently taking several new Voice locations live for its customers each week, which it believes is a testament to the positive feedback it has received from customers and restaurant guests to date.

“We are delighted that StarCorp has signed its Carl’s Jr. locations with Presto after an extensive pilot and believe that action speaks volumes,” said Dan Mosher, President of Presto. “StarCorp has been an incredible partner, and this expanded partnership is a further proof point of the benefits of our Voice solution.”

“We are very excited to be working with Presto,” said Warren Forsythe, President of StarCorp. “We have a standard of excellence to uphold at StarCorp, and we chose Presto’s solution as it delivers on our expectations of the technology, including driving increased revenue and more efficient operations, which we believe will be essential for all restaurants.”

About Presto Automation Inc.

Presto (NASDAQ: PRST) provides enterprise-grade automation solutions to some of the nation’s largest hospitality brands. Presto Voice™, its industry-leading automation and voice AI technology, improves order accuracy, reduces labor costs, and increases revenue for superior drive-thru and dine-in experiences. Presto is one of the largest labor automation technology providers in the industry. Presto is headquartered in Silicon Valley in San Carlos, California and has several restaurant chain customers in the U.S. that are familiar household names.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.

The forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release or as of the date they are made. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, Presto disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release. Presto cautions you that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of Presto. In addition, Presto cautions you that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to the following risks and uncertainties: our ability to manage our growth effectively, to sustain our recent revenue growth or attract new customers; the limited operating history with our new Voice products in a new and developing market; our ability to roll out new locations within a specified amount of time; our ability to achieve revenue growth while our expenses increase; continued adverse impacts from COVID-19 (including as a result of global supply chain shortages); the loss of any of our three largest customers or a reduction in their business with us; our ability to improve and enhance the functionality, performance, reliability, design, security, or scalability of our platform to respond to customers’ evolving needs; our ability to protect the security of our customers’ information; changing privacy laws, regulations and standards, and our ability to comply with contractual obligations and laws related to data privacy and security; unfavorable conditions in the restaurant industry or the global economy, including with respect to food, labor, and occupancy costs; the availability of capital or financing on acceptable terms, if at all; financial covenants and other restrictions on our actions contained in our financing agreements that may limit our operational flexibility; the length and unpredictability of our sales cycles and the amount of investments required in sales efforts; material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and, our ability to remediate these deficiencies; our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to receive additional financing in a timely manner; shortages, price increases, changes, delays or discontinuations of hardware; our ability to maintain relationships with our payment processors; our relies on computer hardware, licensed software and services rendered by third parties; U.S. laws and regulations (including with respect to payment transaction processing), many of which are unsettled and still developing, and our or our customers’ ability to comply with such laws and regulations; significant changes in U.S. and international trade policies that restrict imports or increase tariffs; any requirements to collect additional sales taxes or be subject to other tax liabilities that may increase the costs to our customers; our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property rights; claims by third parties of intellectual property infringement; our use of open-source software in our platform; and other economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting Presto’s business generally as set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact
Investors:
Adam Rogers
VP Investor Relations
investor@presto.com

Media:
Brian Ruby
media@presto.com