Hamburg, December 18th, 2024 – Circus SE (Xetra: CA1), a leading AI and robotics company specializing in autonomous kitchen systems, today announced the appointment of Jürgen Thamm to its Advisory Board. Thamm, the former Regional Director Continental Europe at Compass, the world’s largest catering company with over 500,000 employees and $42.2 billion in revenue, brings unparalleled expertise in food service and strategic growth to Circus’ mission of automating food-service through AI and robotics globally.
With decades of leadership experience at Compass Group, Thamm has a deep understanding of the complexities and inefficiencies of manual labor in large-scale food operations, including the significant food waste that results from these challenges. As Compass focuses on serving large-scale enterprises in employee catering, Thamm recognizes that much of the market potential remains untapped due to the high costs and limitations of manual labor.
“Full autonomy is the only way to solve the food service industry’s growing labor and cost crisis,” said Thamm. “Circus’ use of robotics and AI is not just innovative - it’s essential. With autonomous solutions like the CA-1 robot, we can unlock new markets that were previously inaccessible, while addressing food waste and inefficiencies at scale. I am honored to join Circus in leading this transformation.”
Thamm’s addition to the Advisory Board reflects his strong belief in the transformative potential of robotics and AI in the food service industry. The CircusAI technology in combination with its revolutionary CA-1 robot, offers fully autonomous food production that can overcome the limitations of manual labor, reduce food waste, and open new opportunities in the catering sector.
Nikolas Bullwinkel, CEO and founder of Circus, commented: “Jürgen’s unparalleled expertise in large-scale food service operations is a significant asset for Circus as we enter mass production of our robots. His vision for autonomy aligns perfectly with our mission to solve the industry's labor crisis through the power of AI. With his guidance, we are gaining key industry knowledge to pioneer the future of autonomous food production.”
As Circus enters into high-volume production of the CA-1 robot and expands its operations globally, Thamm joins a distinguished Advisory Board that includes AI and robotic experts like Dr. Arne Rost (Managing Director of TUM Venture Lab Robotics/AI), Dr. Maria Danninger (Next Gen Robotics Go-to-Market Lead at Accenture Tech Innovation).
Together, they will support Circus in scaling its AI and robotics technology, which has already secured an order backlog of over 8,600 CA-1 systems bundled with CircusAI. Since launching commercialization in the second quarter of this year, strong demand for its AI and robotics solutions - capable of reducing labor cost as well as food waste by over 90% - has grown to an annual revenue potential of €1.1 billion to date.
About Circus
Circus SE (XETRA: CA1) is a global leader in AI solutions and autonomous robotics, transforming the EUR 2.6 trillion food service sector through full autonomy. With its proprietary AI platform, CircusAI, and the world’s first commercially viable AI-robot in food service, CA-1, Circus is pioneering AI in food service to address industry-wide labor shortages.
