South Korean startup serves pizza with AI and robotics. But is it a flash in the pan?

GoPizza CEO and founder Jay Lim is no foodie, but he is on a mission to make pizza more accessible.

Lim, who attended university in Singapore, recalls paying S$20 to S$30 (US$15 to US$22) for a buy one, get one free pizza, which he found “illogical.” Apart from waiting over an hour for your order to be delivered, “you’re sure to have leftovers,” he says.

GoPizza CEO and founder Jay Lim / Photo credit: GoPizza

Now, he owns the third-largest pizza chain in Singapore by store count. Demand for its pizzas are driven by trends including an increase in single-person households, rising cost of living, and a post-pandemic labor crunch, Lim tells Tech in Asia.

GoPizza started out in South Korea as a single food truck in 2016. Eight years later, it has 200 stores in seven markets in Asia and plans to add another 100 by June.

In December 2023 alone, GoPizza opened six new stores in Singapore.

The company, which Lim says has raised US$50 million from investors to date, sold more than US$37 million worth of pizza at its outlets and at franchise stores in 2023.

GoPizza is also backed by some of South Korea’s biggest conglomerates. GS Venture is the corporate venture arm of GS Group, which owns around 17,000 GS25 convenience stores in the country as of June 2023. CJ Investment, whose parent firm CJ Group is a leading distributor and manufacturer of beverages and frozen food, is also an investor.

Lim shares that GoPizza’s valuation is an estimated US$150 million while its revenue hit US$20 million in 2023, after accounting for franchise sales.

Making pizzas efficiently

Rectangular in shape and at about 27 cm long and 17 cm wide (roughly 11 inches by 7 inches), GoPizzas are the “perfect size” for an individual portion, Lim says. They’re also slightly heftier than a 7-inch personal pizza from Domino’s.

In Singapore, GoPizza’s prices range from S$7 (US$5.20) for a standard pizza to S$12 (US$9) for one with premium toppings. It could take between five to seven minutes on average to serve the pizzas, making them suitable for takeaways.

That’s slightly cheaper than what Domino’s charges for its personal pizza, which is priced between S$12.90 to S$15.90 (US$9.60 to US$11.80). Pizza Hut’s personal pan pizzas, meanwhile, cost between S$12.10 to S$16.65 (US$9 to US$12.40) and are smaller at 6-inches wide.

However, GoPizza doesn’t see chains like Pizza Hut and Domino’s as its main rivals in Singapore. Instead, it competes against fast food giants that offer a similar price point and value such as Subway, McDonald’s, and KFC, Lim says.

GoPizza uses patented ovens designed to bake its pizzas in under five minutes – half the time that it would normally take on conventional ovens.

Scaling in a hypercompetitive market

As fast as Flash Coffee?

Breaking even in six months

Enough runway for “at least three years”