Jersey Mike's IPO: AI hype reaches sandwich shops
Original: Jersey Mike’s IPO illustrates how bad the AI hype has become
Why This Matters
Shows AI hype has permeated traditional industries, raising questions about disclosure quality in IPO filings.
Sandwich chain Jersey Mike's S-1 filing mentions 'artificial intelligence' or 'AI' 22 times, despite selling no AI products. The document includes an AI risk disclosure, stating 'We are beginning to use AI Technologies in our business,' highlighting how pervasive AI hype has become across all industries ahead of the company's IPO.
TechCrunch's Julie Bort analyzed Jersey Mike's IPO S-1 filing and found that the sandwich chain referenced 'artificial intelligence' or 'AI' 22 times throughout the document — despite the company's core business being submarine sandwiches. By comparison, 'software' appeared 52 times and 'data' 112 times. The filing includes a boilerplate AI investor-risk warning reading 'We are beginning to use AI Technologies in our business,' without specifying what AI applications are in use or how they could pose material risk to investors. Bort draws a parallel to other non-AI companies — including startups raising venture capital and firms like Bending Spoons — that are similarly compelled to incorporate AI language into investor pitches due to market demand. The piece also references Starbucks as a cautionary example: the coffee chain recently scrapped an AI-based inventory tool that failed to function properly. Bort notes that 'weather' appeared five times in Jersey Mike's S-1, while 'lightning' — an actual documented hazard that struck a Texas franchise location in 2021 — was not mentioned at all, underscoring the disproportionate weight given to AI risk versus more tangible operational threats.