Vol.10: Do Robot Woks Make Pre-Made Meals? A Conversation with Geng Kaiping of ZhiGu TianChu

September 4, 2025

Recently, the food variety show One Meal to Fame has captured many viewers' taste buds. And this past August, a competition between stir-fry robots concluded in Beijing — Yunqi Capital portfolio company Zhigu Tiancui (智谷天厨) took home the "Technology Innovation Award" at the inaugural China Stir-Fry Robot Competition.

When you hear "stir-fry robot," do you wonder: "Can it replicate the taste of home cooking?" "How does it handle the complex heat control that makes Chinese cuisine what it is?"

Shortly after the World Robot Congress wrapped up in August, we sat down with Kaiping Geng, founder and CEO of Zhigu Tiancui — a PhD known in industry circles as "the guy who understands cooking best" — to explore everything from the "soul" of Chinese cuisine to the inner workings of stir-fry robots, plus real-world deployments in institutional catering and fast-food chains.

Why is Chinese food so resistant to standardization? How does technology enable a robot to do "real cooking"? As a veteran with over a decade in the field, why did Zhigu Tiancui prioritize B2B scenarios? With the competition heating up, what's the moat? We hope this hour-long conversation delivers answers.

In this episode of Attent!on, we take you into one of the most grounded yet technologically imaginative spaces there is — the kitchen.

[Guest]

Kaiping Geng — Founder & CEO, Zhigu Tiancui

Over ten years of deep experience in chain restaurant operations and stir-fry robotics. Founded Zhigu Tiancui in 2018 (a Yunqi Capital early-stage portfolio company). The company remains focused on R&D and innovation in intelligent cooking technology, with a core team drawn from top universities. To date, it has filed for over 200 patents, certifications, and authorizations, and its robots can cook more than 2,000 Chinese dishes.

Zhigu Tiancui's intelligent cooking robots, food safety management platform, and smart kitchen systems currently serve nearly 100 top-tier restaurant chain brands, with products exported to Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, Europe, and the US.

[Host]

Linda — Managing Director, Yunqi Capital

[Timeline]

01:33 Getting to know our guest

PART 1: When Robots Enter the Kitchen

02:47 Stir-fry robots vs. pre-made meals: what's the difference?

05:07 The B2B stir-fry robot landscape: segment distinctions

07:06 Deconstructing the workflow: how does a robot cook a dish?

09:09 How technology "nails" heat control and seasoning

14:23 The role of AI algorithms in stir-fry robots

PART 2: Zhigu Tiancui's Entrepreneurial Choices

18:41 The starting point and inspiration

23:55 How was the massive Chinese dish database built?

26:51 How product form factors adapt to real kitchen environments

28:25 Zhigu Tiancui's market strategy

29:23 Case study: a corporate headquarters smart cafeteria

37:54 Diverse commercial applications: distributed scenarios and chain restaurants

41:58 A deep dive into the global expansion playbook

PART 3: Competition and the Future

47:28 Technical approach: how Zhigu Tiancui differs from overseas products

50:27 Reading the competitive landscape: "this赛道 can't stay fragmented forever"

52:19 Zhigu's moat: industry know-how and execution capability

54:13 Reflections on entrepreneurship and future vision

58:16 Join Zhigu Tiancui

🔼 Zhigu Tiancui Smart Restaurant

[Find us here]

WeChat Official Account: Yunqi Capital

Xiaohongshu: Anfu Road Yun Xiao Qi

View episode transcript on Xiaoyuzhou