The parent company of Irvine-based Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill announced this week a partnership with the world’s most valuable chipmaker, Nvidia.
Louisville-based Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Pizza Hut, said it is partnering with the chip giant “to accelerate the development of innovative AI technologies” at the company’s restaurants. Yum is the largest restaurant company in the world with more than 61,000 locations.
Yum is Nvidia’s first AI restaurant partner.
The AI solutions will focus on three key areas: voice automated order-taking powered by AI agents; computer vision enhanced operations to optimize drive-thru efficiency and back-of-house labor management; and using AI-driven analytics to generate personalized action plans for restaurant managers.
“This collaboration brings the two powerhouses together to integrate AI into the restaurant and retail industry at an unprecedented scale,” Yum said in a March 18 statement.
Taco Bell, which has more than 7,600 restaurants in the U.S., has been testing voice AI in the drive-thru at dozens of locations including a handful in Orange County.
