Marc Lore, known for building and selling startups to Amazon and Walmart, is now betting big on AI to transform the food industry through his venture Wonder.

According to LumenCodes, Lore’s latest initiative, Wonder Create, aims to let anyone—from entrepreneurs to influencers—build and launch a fully branded virtual restaurant in under a minute using AI.

AI-Powered Restaurants, Instantly

The idea is straightforward but ambitious. Users simply describe the type of restaurant they want, and AI generates everything: the name, branding, menu, pricing, images, and even recipes. Once finalized, the concept can go live across Wonder’s network of tech enabled kitchens.

These aren’t traditional restaurants. Wonder operates “programmable cooking platforms” compact, high-tech kitchens that can switch between up to 25 different cuisines using a shared ingredient system. The company currently runs around 120 locations and plans to expand to 400 in the near future.

Robotics Meets Food Production

Each kitchen combines human staff with automation, including robotic arms and conveyor systems. Wonder has also acquired robotics technology to streamline food preparation and is developing tools like an “infinite sauce machine” capable of producing a vast range of recipes.

Rather than reducing jobs, Lore says automation will boost output. The goal is to significantly increase meal production within the same physical space, potentially reaching tens of millions of meals annually from a single footprint.

A New Creator Economy for Food

Wonder Create is designed to unlock new monetization opportunities. Influencers, fitness trainers, brands even nonprofits could launch their own food concepts without owning a physical restaurant.

Lore compares the idea to a “Shopify-style front end powered by AI,” where launching a restaurant becomes as easy as setting up an online store.

Lessons from the Past

The concept builds on earlier “ghost kitchen” models, which struggled with inconsistent quality and customer loyalty. A notable example is Mr. Beast Burger, which faced criticism due to varying food standards across partner kitchens.

Wonder aims to solve this by centralizing operations and standardizing production through automation and controlled environments.

Still an Open Question

Despite the promise, challenges remain. Not all types of cuisine can be easily automated, and it’s unclear whether mass adoption of AI-generated restaurant brands will resonate with consumers.

Still, Lore is thinking at scale—envisioning thousands of unique restaurant brands operating from a single network of kitchens in the future.

The Bigger Picture

This approach reflects a broader shift: AI isn’t just changing digital industries it’s starting to reshape physical ones too.

If successful, Wonder’s model could redefine what it means to “open a restaurant” turning it from a capital-intensive venture into something as simple as writing a prompt.