Yum! Brands Finalizes Purchase of Dragontail Systems
Yum! Brands, Inc. has completed its acquisition of Dragontail Systems Limited, a provider of technology solutions including delivery drones.
Back in May, Yum! and Dragontail announced the buyout. The deal gives Yum! Brands the ability to scale Dagontail’s artificial intelligence (AI) kitchen order management and delivery technology globally.
“A key growth driver for our business and our teams is the continued acceleration of our digital and technology strategy, including how we leverage our global scale with investments in technology initiatives that enhance the customer and employee experience, strengthen restaurant unit economics and provide a competitive advantage for our franchisees,” said David Gibbs, Chief Executive Officer, Yum! Brands. “We’re excited to welcome Dragontail and its world-class talent to the Yum! family and look forward to deploying its AI kitchen order management, delivery and other technologies globally to our brands and franchisees over time.”
Yum! Brands is focused on the continued acceleration of its digital and technology initiatives across the globe, geared toward providing customers with new and seamless ways to access its brands, simplifying the lives of restaurant teams and improving unit economics for franchisees. Delivery, which Yum! Brands offers in over 39,000 restaurants, is a key part of the company’s strategy, driven by a combination of expanded aggregator partnerships and continued investment in its own branded channels.
“Dragontail’s cutting-edge restaurant technology allows us to tap into the power of AI to optimize the end-to-end food preparation process and accelerate and further enhance our delivery technology capabilities,” said Chris Turner, Chief Financial Officer, Yum! Brands. “We believe Dragontail will make it easier for team members to operate and run a restaurant, help our franchisees strengthen their store operations and provide a superior experience for customers.”
Dragontail’s kitchen order management and delivery technology is deployed across nearly 1,500 Pizza Hut restaurants in over 10 countries. Many Pizza Hut restaurants leveraging Dragontail’s platform have already seen a positive impact on sales, order fulfillment and customer satisfaction scores, including product freshness and delivery time.
Yum! Brands’ purchase of Dragontail also brings in house other Dragontail emerging technologies, including its QT AI camera quality control system. Earlier this year, Dragontail Systems revealed it is working in partnership with Pizza Hut Israel to deploy autonomous drones for pizza delivery.