Hi Auto, a global leader in conversational AI systems for drive-thru restaurants, has announced the appointment of Naama Cohen as the company’s Vice President of Global Operations.
In her new role, Cohen will oversee the operational quality of Hi Auto’s solution in restaurants worldwide, ensuring high accuracy and speed in order-taking while adapting the system to different brands and geographic markets. She will also be responsible for maintaining service reliability at scale.
Before joining Hi Auto, Cohen served for six years as General Manager of Abraham Hostel Tel Aviv and previously as Head of Human Resources for the hostel and tourism network across Israel. She is also a mentor at Paamonim, a nonprofit organization focused on financial education.
Hi Auto has the largest deployment of conversational AI systems in drive-thru locations across the United States. The company operates on a SaaS-based model, charging a monthly fee for its AI-powered ordering solution, with a primary focus on quick-service restaurant (QSR) brands and their franchisees. Hi Auto’s extensive customer base includes brands such as Bojangles, Checkers & Rally’s, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, and Burger King in New Zealand. Additionally, the company is in advanced pilot stages with several leading QSR chains to further expand its market presence.
Hi Auto’s conversational AI solution is specifically designed for the challenging, high-noise environments of drive-thru restaurants, where traditional voice AI systems often struggle. The technology leverages advanced noise cancellation algorithms and a powerful language model to accurately capture customer orders, reducing errors and wait times—even in chaotic audio conditions.
Roy Baharav, Co-Founder and CEO of Hi Auto, commented: “Order-taking is a critical part of restaurant operations, and we cannot compromise on quality. As we scale across brands, franchisees, and geographic regions, the operational complexity grows significantly. Naama’s ability to analyze, plan, and lead large-scale operations is essential to our expansion from hundreds to thousands of locations. She will drive faster deployments, improve order accuracy, and shorten order-taking times. Having been rapidly promoted within Hi Auto, Naama will also lead our expansion into new markets beyond the U.S., where we are running our first pilots.”
Hi Auto was founded in 2019 by Roy Baharav, who serves as CEO, Eyal Shapira, the company’s current CTO, and the late Zohar Zisapel. Baharav brings extensive experience in product leadership and business operations, including key roles at Google, where he led advertising solutions for retailers and managed remarketing business growth. Shapira is a technology expert with over 20 years of experience in software R&D and took part in founding AI-driven startups.
Hi Auto currently employs a team of 100 professionals worldwide, specializing in machine learning and natural language processing technologies.
