News Release

CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc., owner and operator of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants, are partnering with Presto Automation to expand deployment of Voice AI at participating drive-thru locations nationwide

SAN CARLOS, Calif., May 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Presto Automation Inc. (Nasdaq: PRST), one of the largest drive-thru automation technology providers in the hospitality industry, today announced the expansion of its partnership with CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., the parent company of the iconic Carl's Jr. and Hardee's brands. Presto will be rolling out its artificial intelligence (AI) powered solution, Presto Voice™, to automate voice ordering at participating drive-thru locations nationwide.

The voice automation technology, which has already been implemented at select Carl's Jr. and Hardee's drive-thru locations within the United States, increases revenue, improves labor productivity, and enhances the guest and staff experience.   Carl's Jr. and Hardee's operate roughly 2,800 franchised or company-operated restaurants across 44 US states.

Phil Crawford, the Chief Technology Officer at CKE, stated that “Presto's Voice AI solution is a robust choice as it aligns well with CKE's objective of providing guests with outstanding service while simultaneously increasing operational efficiency.” Crawford added “that the pilot program yielded positive outcomes, with deployed stores experiencing a significant rise in revenue due to the upsell capability. As a result, we are delighted to offer the Presto Voice AI technology to our franchisee base across the country.”

"The entire Presto team is excited to be partnering with CKE, a pioneer and a technology early adopter in the QSR space,” said Dan Mosher, President of Presto. “CKE recently revolutionized its digital ecosystem and we are confident that Presto is well-suited to support CKE's growth.”

Presto is a proven leader in automation technology and as a public company also understands how to operationalize the successful deployment of its products across thousands of restaurants. In recent pilot tests of Presto Voice at select Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants, Presto Voice yielded great results with the test location’s relevant metrics, including increased upsell offer rates and increased average check sizes due to upsells.

To schedule a live demo or learn more about Presto’s products, please contact mktg@presto.com or visit presto.com.

About Presto Automation Inc.

Presto (Nasdaq: PRST) provides enterprise-grade AI solutions for the nation’s largest hospitality brands. Our industry-leading automation and voice AI technology improves order accuracy, reduces labor costs, and increases revenue for superior drive-thru and dine-in experiences. With over 380 million transactions processed, Presto is one of the largest labor automation technology providers in the industry. Presto is headquartered in Silicon Valley in San Carlos, California and counts among its customers some of the top 20 restaurant chains in the United States.

About CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.

CKE, a privately held company based in Franklin, Tennessee, runs and operates Carl's Jr.® and Hardee's®, two beloved regional brands, known for premium and innovative menu items such as 100 percent Black Angus Thickburgers®, Made from Scratch™ Biscuits and Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders™. With both a US and international footprint, Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC and Hardee's Restaurants LLC have over 3,800 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 43 foreign countries and U.S. territories.

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 Vision and Voice products in a new and developing market; 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 reliance 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

For Presto:

Chris Cast
media@presto.com

For CKE:

Beth Gerstenberger
Communications Director
615-970-8363
bgerstenberger@ckr.com

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e792fb25-79b4-4c7c-9aea-fb84f621c47a