Maker of the Flippy Robot Buys a Software Firm and Evolves

Miso Robotics, the Pasadena company that builds the Flippy fry-station robot, has acquired a Memphis software firm and folded its technology into a new restaurant-operations product called Zippy, the company announced Feb. 26.

The deal pushes one of Pasadena’s better-known technology employers beyond the kitchen hardware that made its name and toward software that restaurant operators use to run their businesses. Miso disclosed the purchase in a press release distributed through EIN Presswire and confirmed it the same day to Fortune. Terms were not disclosed, according to the company. The announcement came in late February, though Miso’s annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a Form C-AR for fiscal year 2025, dates the asset purchase to Jan. 1, 2026.

Miso lists its headquarters at 680 East Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, according to company filings and business databases, and runs a research site it calls the Miso Innovation Lab in the city. The automated restaurant it helped create, CaliExpress by Flippy, opened at 561 E. Green St. in Pasadena.

The acquired company, Zignyl, is described by Miso as an AI-powered restaurant operations, insights and employee-incentives tool. Restaurant Business reported that Zignyl is based in Memphis, was founded in 2018, and offers forecasting, scheduling and checklists along with performance-based pay incentives in a single app.

Miso said it built Zignyl into a previously undisclosed product called Zippy. In its announcement, the company described Zippy as combining artificial intelligence and large language model technology with connected-device data, revenue metrics, labor scheduling, forecasting, employee incentives and task management, through both a dashboard and a chatbot-style interface.

Zignyl’s founder and chief executive, Matt Forbush, is joining Miso to lead Zippy, and the full Zignyl team is moving over, according to Restaurant Business. The outlet reported that Forbush is a longtime franchisee of Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon, Jamba and Häagen-Dazs who created Zignyl in 2018 to track his own restaurants and keep employees engaged.

Miso said the combined Zippy and Zignyl customer base includes more than a dozen quick-service brands. The named brands varied by source. Miso’s release, as reported by QSR Magazine, listed Auntie Anne’s, Jersey Mike’s, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Jamba, Cinnabon and Which Wich. Restaurant Business reported the list as Jersey Mike’s, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, Which Wich and Carvel.

The deal was announced by Miso Chief Executive Rich Hull. In a statement carried by QSR Magazine, Hull said he was “instantly impressed with Zignyl’s robust performance, team, and customer trust.” In a statement provided by the company, Forbush said he was “excited to now bring that value to Zippy and Miso.”

Miso, founded in 2016, is best known for Flippy, a robotic fry station used in quick-service kitchens. The company has said Flippy is operating in seven U.S. states and has surpassed 5 million fried baskets in live use, with deployments that have included White Castle, Jack in the Box, Wing Zone and the Washington-state chain Insert Coin. Restaurant Business reported the purchase marks Miso’s shift from a primarily hardware-focused robotics company toward a broader restaurant-software platform.

The acquisition comes as the company has faced financial pressure. Fortune reported that Miso generated about $385,000 in net revenue in 2024, down from about $493,000 in 2023, that it had ended partnerships with CaliBurger and Panera, and that it had 14 Flippy units in operation as of the end of 2025.