Researching Shake Shack$Shake Shack(SHAK.US) ultimately led me to something even more fascinating: its parent company, Union Square Hospitality Group. Beyond Shake Shack, Union Square Hospitality Group has many noteworthy aspects. Particularly eye-catching is their venture capital arm, Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), which focuses on investing in innovative restaurant brands and foodservice supply chain companies.

While the restaurant brands EHI has invested in are quite popular in the U.S., they might be relatively unfamiliar to domestic audiences. One standout is the boutique coffee chain Joe's Coffee, which left a deep impression on me. I tried their coffee in New York before, and both the quality and taste were excellent.

In the foodservice supply chain sector, one EHI-backed company particularly caught my attention—ConverseNow. This is an innovative company that uses AI technology to provide voice-ordering services. Last year, EHI led a $10 million Series A1 funding round for ConverseNow, and Danny Meyer, founder of Union Square Hospitality Group, joined ConverseNow's board.

ConverseNow's core product is an automated ordering system designed for drive-thru scenarios. In the U.S., drive-thru ordering is almost an indispensable part of daily life, but it also comes with many challenges. Customers often complain about staff mishearing orders, and with the tightening labor market, hiring drive-thru employees has become increasingly difficult.

ConverseNow's competitive edge lies in its voice recognition capabilities in complex environments. Car engine noise, ambient interference, crying children in the car, and in-car music all place extremely high demands on the accuracy of voice recognition. Although AI technology in ordering isn't new, achieving accurate recognition in drive-thru scenarios remains challenging.

ConverseNow has overcome these hurdles and established partnerships with chains like Domino's. Currently, over 1,100 Domino's locations across 40 U.S. states are using ConverseNow's services.