Richtech and SoundHound Partner on Voice-Controlled Robot for Restaurant Orders
Richtech Robotics and SoundHound AI plan to debut a voice-enabled beverage robot at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago on May 16-19, 2026. The two companies signed a non-binding letter of intent to integrate SoundHound's voice AI into Richtech's Scorpion robot, enabling customers to place orders by speaking naturally to the machine.
The demo will occupy booth #6857 at the NRA Show. It will showcase a complete ordering and fulfillment workflow designed for real restaurant and hotel environments-a customer speaks an order, the voice system processes it, and the robot prepares and delivers the drink.
Richtech will also maintain a separate booth (#3885) featuring its humanoid robot ADAM making noodles live during the show.
What the Partnership Covers
The companies are exploring co-marketing arrangements, bundled product offerings, and subscription-based Robotics-as-a-Service models. Neither company has finalized binding commercial terms yet.
Wayne Huang, Richtech's CEO, said the integration aims to make robots feel more natural to interact with. "By embedding SoundHound's 'ears and brain' into our platforms, we're making automation feel humanized," he said.
James Hom, SoundHound's chief product officer and co-founder, framed the pairing as closing the gap between what a customer says and what the robot does. "Pairing our conversational intelligence with Richtech Robotics' hardware allows us to close the loop between a spoken order and physical fulfillment," he said.
Why This Matters for Hospitality
Voice-controlled robots could address labor constraints in food service and hospitality. A voice interface removes the friction of typing orders into a kiosk or shouting specifications to a bartender. For venues handling high order volumes, the system could reduce wait times and errors.
The technology also lets robots handle routine transactions-beverage orders, simple food prep-freeing staff for more complex or customer-facing work. Whether venues adopt it depends on cost, reliability, and customer acceptance.
Learn more about AI for Hospitality & Events and how AI Agents & Automation are reshaping service operations.
What's Not Yet Certain
The partnership remains preliminary. Both companies must negotiate and sign a definitive agreement. They also need to prove the system works reliably in actual restaurant settings and that customers will use it.
Richtech and SoundHound have not announced pricing, availability, or which restaurant chains might pilot the technology first.
Your membership also unlocks:
