As AI experts and accomplished chess players, Nicole Maffeo and Eliot Horowitz are always pondering their next big move.
Fittingly, their fierce duels playing “the royal game” led to the coworkers’ latest professional endeavor: launching Gambit Robotics, a New York City-based company creating AI-powered cooking technology that helps home chefs make restaurant-quality meals while saving hours each week. Gambit is the only AI-powered assistant that helps people cook perfectly, every time.
“We’re both huge believers in what artificial intelligence can do,” said Maffeo, a former Google AI lead who happens to be an internationally ranked chess player.
“AI’s gotten really advanced but there’s still a big gap between what companies build and what actually helps people every day — especially where robotics meets AI,” she added. “That’s the space we’re obsessed with: making intelligence useful in the real world.”
Maffeo and Horowitz – who leads multiple tech companies, along with a restaurant – sought to use AI to ease the daily stress of busy Gen Zers and millennial parents, and aid “chef-curious” baby boomers.
“Cooking is a pain point for almost everyone — it’s where people spend so much of their time,” Maffeo said. “The kitchen feels like the Holy Grail. If we can get AI and robotics working there in a real, tangible way, we can make a real impact.”
How Gambit Works
Gambit is a small hardware device that magnetically attaches to the hood or microwave above your stove. The device boasts features every bit as impressive as the rarely seen “queen sacrifice” in chess:
- Thermal Sensors: Precisely determine the temperature of any dish down to the exact degree.
- Real-Time Vision: Gambit sees what’s happening in your pan — tracking doneness, color, and texture as you cook.
- Voice Guidance: With real-time voice guidance, Gambit becomes your kitchen co-pilot, telling you exactly when to flip, stir, or serve.
- Safety Elements: Detects dangers such as excess smoke or gas, keeping your kitchen safe while you cook.
- Recipe Intelligence: Reads any recipe — even a photo or URL — and generates simple, step-by-step instructions
Reimagining the Smart Kitchen
Today’s virtual assistants like Alexa or Google Home can’t match Gambit’s functionality. Watching quick tutorial videos on TikTok may offer inspiration, but Gambit actually helps users achieve restaurant-quality results at home.
Months ago, Maffeo and Horowitz set out to create an industry-leading, AI-powered assistant that turned everyday cooks into confident chefs while reducing their stress. By late 2025, the leaders of Gambit Robotics can confidently say … “checkmate.”
For the price of a few hundred dollars and a recurring subscription, Gambit allows home chefs to “go on autopilot,” as the device provides oversight. “When you unlock efficiency and automate things using AI in the kitchen, it’s powerful,” Maffeo said.
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