WillItSurvive
Vertical and industry software · United States

Presto Automation

presto.com ↗

Voice AI vendor for restaurant drive-thru ordering, serving mid-tier QSR chains.

Little protection left
Assessed 23 July 2026 · Evidence as of 23 July 2026
Not much stands between this business and its pressures.
On the recordSince 23 July 2026 · Checkable from Q3 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Results of Dairy Queen national franchisee voice AI rollout
The call

Presto Phoenix survives on mid-tier chain deals while Google and Nvidia run voice AI at the chains everyone actually watches.

Presto Automation sells software that uses artificial intelligence to take orders through drive-thru speakers instead of having workers do it. The company is hard to protect because Google and Nvidia are already selling similar technology to major chains like Wendy's and Yum! Brands, and new AI models from companies like OpenAI keep getting better at understanding voices and taking orders without help. Presto currently works with mid-size chains like Del Taco and Dairy Queen, but its revenue has shrunk from $30 million to $19 million in the past few years, and the company was foreclosed on in late 2024. The one thing that could change everything is if Presto's Dairy Queen rollout in April 2026 actually shows that the software can handle 85 to 90 percent of orders without human help across hundreds of franchises, proving the technology works at real scale. If that succeeds and Google or Nvidia don't directly steal those accounts, Presto might survive. If it fails or the giants move in, the company's future becomes very limited.

Why
01
AI pressure: OpenAI and Google frontier voice-agent models. Frontier voice models close the human-fallback gap Presto still needs for 10-15% of orders, order by order. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Google Cloud Contact AI Center (Wendy's) and Nvidia (Yum! Brands: KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut). Google and Nvidia already run voice AI at flagship chains, leaving Presto with Del Taco, Dairy Queen, and Taco John's. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Working POS integrations (Qu) and live order data at existing mid-tier chains give it something to sell besides promises.
What would change this call
Google or Nvidia announces a deal with Del Taco, Dairy Queen, Checkers, or Taco John's. Would show platform giants actively poaching Presto's existing mid-tier accounts, not just flagship chains.
Dairy Queen national franchisee rollout results (from April 2026 announcement) are disclosed. Would show whether Presto's claimed 85-90% non-intervention rate holds at scale or requires heavy human fallback.
Presto's next funding round or quarterly filing after the January 2026 $10M raise. Would show whether the company needs repeated capital injections to stay operating.
Key numbers
  • TTM revenue $19.05M, down 34.8% year over year (2026-04-14)
  • SEC found prior version needed humans for ~70% of orders (2025-01-13)
  • Raised $10M more from Metropolitan Partners (2026-01-08)
Named risks
  • Revenue decline from $30.35M FY2022 to $19.05M TTM as of April 2026. Severity: high
  • SEC settled AI-washing enforcement action over inflated automation claims, January 2025. Severity: high
  • Senior lender Metropolitan Partners Group foreclosed and sits ahead of equity in new cap table. Severity: medium
  • Core product remains dependent on human order-completion agents despite automation marketing. Severity: medium
  • Dormant public PRST shell creates ongoing entity confusion with private Presto Phoenix. Severity: low
Rivals, as read in July 2026
RivalDirectionEvidence
Google (Cloud Contact AI Center)losing toPowers Wendy's FreshAI drive-thru voice ordering, a flagship account outside Presto's reach as of April 2026
Nvidia / Yum! Brandslosing to2025 partnership building AI voice ordering across KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut globally
SoundHound AIlosing toNamed partner to Chipotle, White Castle, Jersey Mike's, Five Guys as of May 2026
Valyant AIcontestingCompeted head-to-head with Presto for CKE Restaurants Hardee's/Carl's Jr contracts in 2023
ConverseNowcontestingEnterprise QSR phone/drive-thru voice ordering integrated with Olo and Deliverect, reported acquiring Valyant AI
Questions people ask
Is Presto Automation profitable in 2026?
No. Revenue has fallen from $30.35M in FY2022 to $26.14M in FY2023 and a trailing-twelve-month figure of $19.05M as of April 2026. The last reported public quarter showed EPS of -$0.32 versus a -$0.15 estimate, indicating ongoing losses.
Who owns Presto now?
Presto is now private, operating as Presto Phoenix, Inc. after a December 2024 foreclosure auction. It was purchased by a consortium led by Remus Capital, with Metropolitan Partners Group and Link Ventures, and received an $18M capital injection announced January 7, 2025.
Could AI replace Presto's own voice-ordering product?
Presto's core business is itself a thin AI layer vulnerable to commoditization. Google's Cloud Contact AI already powers Wendy's FreshAI, and Nvidia partnered with Yum! Brands in 2025 for KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut drive-thru voice ordering, directly threatening Presto's category.
Is Presto Automation stock (PRST) still tradeable?
The original public entity was delisted from Nasdaq effective August 8, 2024 for failing listing standards and now trades on OTC markets as a near-dormant shell, with a market cap of roughly $41,000-$42,000 as of July 23, 2026, separate from the private operating business.
Did Presto's AI actually automate orders as claimed?
The SEC found, in a January 13, 2025 settled enforcement action, that an earlier 'advanced pilot' version of Presto Voice required human agents to complete approximately 70% of orders, contradicting the company's public claims of high automation.
Who are Presto's biggest competitors in drive-thru voice AI?
Google's Cloud Contact AI Center powers Wendy's FreshAI, Nvidia partnered with Yum! Brands in 2025 for KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, and SoundHound AI holds partnerships with Chipotle, White Castle, Jersey Mike's and Five Guys as of May 2026.
Timeline
  • 2026-04-16Dairy Queen partnership expanded to select franchisees nationwide
  • 2026-04-09Co-founder Krishna Gupta returns as CEO of Presto Phoenix
  • 2026-01-08Presto Phoenix raises additional $10M led by Metropolitan Partners Group
  • 2025-01-13SEC settles AI-washing charges against former public Presto entity
  • 2025-01-07Assets sold to Remus Capital led consortium; renamed Presto Phoenix with $18M injection
  • 2024-08-08Presto Automation delisted from Nasdaq for failing listing standards
  • 2024-06-18McDonald's ends AI drive-thru pilot with IBM after accuracy complaints
  • 2024-06-01Taco John's pilot of Presto Voice with Qu POS integration reported
  • 2023-01-09Presto Voice AI expansion announced at Del Taco
  • 2022-09Presto Automation goes public via SPAC merger with Ventoux CCM Acquisition Corp
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
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