City Storage Systems, known for its CloudKitchens unit, recently witnessed the departure of its Chief Financial Officer, a pivotal move as the company navigates the evolving landscape of tech and real estate amidst economic challenges. The CFO, boasting an extensive background including over a dozen years at Amazon and a leadership role in their international consumer business, left the stealth startup, as stated on LinkedIn, without disclosing the company’s name as per longstanding directives to employees.
The CloudKitchens initiative by City Storage Systems, spearheaded by Travis Kalanick, seeks to revolutionize food production akin to how Uber transformed the taxi industry. Alongside its ghost-kitchen facilities, the company’s Otter division provides restaurant software, and efforts are underway to introduce robots in food production, promising substantial labor cost reductions.
However, the journey post-2021’s fundraising has been fraught with obstacles. The startup, alongside others in the tech and real estate sectors, grapples with inflation and surging interest rates, leading to several rounds of layoffs across various departments through 2023.
