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Circus Group

AI robotics for the food industry

Circus Group logo
101-200 employees
  • B2B
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Food
  • Robotics
Altstadt, Hamburg, Germany

Company mission

To fuel humanity by providing global access to balanced nutrition, for everyone, anytime.

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Our take

German startup Circus Group - formerly Circus Kitchen - was initially founded to develop a delivery app for creating micro kitchen ecosystems. Since acquiring Aitme in 2023, it has maintained its micro-kitchen hub and delivery app but pivoted towards autonomous robotics for kitchen automation.

Aitme's cooking robot will add another level of low-cost, high-quality cuisine to Circus’s offering. Reduced food waste, overhead costs and cooking times are a distinct value-addition to the Hamburg company.

Backed by BlackMars Capital and 2bx, the company expanded its operations into other German cities in 2023. It has since expanded into Beijing, where it will install 5400 autonomous kitchen robots across more than 90 of the city's educational institutions. Projections report that this significant expansion for a European company will raise Circus to Unicorn status. Time will tell if this prediction becomes reality.

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Steph

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Benefits

  • Work-Life Balance: Enjoy regular team events, a hybrid work setup, 2 months per year of remote work ("Worcation"), unlimited vacation days, and a corporate pension plan
  • Personal Development: €500 personal budget for training, in-house training, and growth opportunities in a fast-paced environment
  • Mobility: Benefit from a €50 monthly budget for mobility or other expenses, and a subsidized Dance Mobility subscription for e-bikes/e-mopeds
  • Well-Being: Get access to discounted Urban Sports Club membership and Wellhub offerings for well-being activities

Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)

Nov 2023

$9.5m

EARLY VC

Jul 2023

$5.8m

EARLY VC

Total funding: $28.5m

Leadership

Nikolas Bullwinkel

(Co-Founder & CEO)

Previously co-founded the fresh food delivery service, Flink. Also worked as a Communications Manager at Digital Hub Logistics Hamburg and as a Project Manager at Weischer.Media.

Helge Plehn

(Co-Founder & CTO)

Serial Entrepreneur having co-founded poolynk, DoctorPrime, and Medikamendo. Also worked on the Executive/Supervisory Board at initions.

Carsten Wille

(Co-Founder & CCO)

Previously founded etepetete and FUTURE STORIES where they served as the CEO.

Jobs (5)

All locations

Software Engineering