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This article is about the businessman. For the US historian, see John Chester Miller.

John C. Miller is an American businessman and attorney serving as the Chairman of the investment company Cali Group and CEO of PopID (a Cali Group portfolio company).

Early life and education

John C. Miller was raised in Los Angeles.[1] Miller has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Redlands. After graduating from Stanford Law School with a JD,[2] Miller was admitted to the California Bar.[2]

Career

Miller was vice president of intellectual property at the public pharmaceutical company Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, from 2004 to 2010.[3] In 2004 he co-authored The Handbook of Nanotechnology: Business, Policy, and Intellectual Property Law, in which Miller, Ruben Serrato, Jose Miguel Represas-Cardenas and Griffith Kundahl explore issues regarding commercial application of nanotechnology.[4]

Miller is the founder, CEO and chairman of the Pasadena based investment company CaliGroup.[5] CaliGroup invests in technology within restaurant and retail industries.[6] In May 2026 the company’s investing portfolio included CaliBurger, Miso Robotics, Super League Gaming, PopID, Antler, Kolo, Simon and Gatler Robotics.[7]

CaliGroup’s new technology is trialed at the CaliBurger chain of restaurants, offering solutions for “food production, delivery, take out and drive-thru”.[8] Miller aims to use robotics to “drive down costs associated with labor, especially turnover.”[9][10] In a Fox News interview in 2017, Miller said the robotic technology increased the quality, consistency and hygiene standards of food as “robots don’t spit in food or contaminate food.”[11] He said employees’ strengths were related to “social interaction” with customers.[11] In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Miller said body thermometer devices would check for feverish temperatures as customers entered CaliBurger’s Pasadena store.[12]

In 2020, Miller was included on Nation’s Restaurant News‘ Power List.[13]

CaliBurger

CaliBurger is a fast-food restaurant with West Coast-styled fries, burgers, and milkshakes. The menu in certain locations includes vegan options with sauces and cheese, and patties by Beyond Meat.[14]

Miller opened the first store in China with some friends.[15] The company has locations in the United States, Mexico, China, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and United Arab Emirates.[16][needs update]

CaliBurger was sued by In-N-Out Burger in 2012 for selling “Animal Style” fries and serving milkshakes in palm-tree-print cups. The lawsuit was settled out of court and CaliBurger agreed to change their menu and decor.[1]

Miller served as CaliBurger CEO for a brief period (2012 to 2014). CaliBurger has had two CEOs since then: Silas Adler and Jeffrey Kalt.[17][18]

Restaurant kitchen robotics

CaliBurger uses a robotic device named “Flippy” in its restaurants for certain types of food preparation.[19] An upgraded version called “Flippy Robot-on-a-Rail” or “Flippy ROAR” was announced in October 2020. It is being implemented in 50 CaliBurger locations.[20] In 2018, a Flippy robot was installed in food concession in Dodger Stadium.[21] In July 2020, White Castle began trials with a Flippy robot in one of their restaurants in Chicago.[22][23]

In 2020, Miso Robotics, a subsidiary of the CaliGroup, unveiled the next generation kitchen robot called Flippy 2.0,[24] which is faster and more versatile than the previous model. Time magazine called it one of the best inventions of 2022.[25] In 2022, Flippy 2.0 was installed in 100 White Castle locations[26] and Jack in the Box began trials at a single location in San Diego.[27] During the same year, Chipotle tested a tortilla chip making version named Chippy at a single location in Fountain Valley.[28]

PopID

Miller has served as the CEO of PopID, a facial recognition-based payment system, since 2018.[29] Under his leadership, the company has expanded its services to multiple sectors, including restaurants and retail. The company has formed partnerships with businesses such as Whataburger and J.P. Morgan Payments, working to implement biometric payment systems.[30][31]

PopID has also introduced its biometric payment technology at major international events, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the Miami Grand Prix, where attendees were able to make contactless payments through facial recognition.[32][33][34]

Personal life

Miller married violinist Caroline Campbell in April 2005. He filed for divorce in June 2011, but they reconciled the following February. They filed divorce papers again in October 2014. In October 2016, they agreed to joint legal custody of their daughter Violet and son Quest.[35][2] The divorce was finalized in November 2018.[36]

Miller dated actress Jennifer Garner from mid-2018 to early 2020.[37][38][39] According to sources and paparazzi photos, they restarted their relationship in April 2021 and have been together since.[40][41][42]

References

  1. ^ a b “In-N-Out vs. CaliBurger: Double-Double trouble in Shanghai”. Los Angeles Times. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c “Jennifer Garner’s New Guy, Burger Chain CEO John Miller: Everything to Know”. PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  3. ^ “Can a robot rule the restaurant? Cali Group says yes – Franchise Times – February 2020 – FranchiseTimes.com”. www.franchisetimes.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  4. ^ Miller, John C., ed. (2005). The handbook of nanotechnology: business, policy, and intellectual property law. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-66695-0.
  5. ^ DiProperzio, Linda (2021-05-05). “John Miller’s Net Worth May Surprise You”. The List. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  6. ^ “About | Cali Group | Tech-Driven Restaurant & Retail Innovations”. thecaligroup.com. Archived from the original on 2026-05-18. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  7. ^ “Portfolio | Cali Group | Tech-Driven Restaurant & Retail Innovations”. thecaligroup.com. Archived from the original on 2026-05-18. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  8. ^ “Cali Group Expands Use of Facial Recognition Tech”. Hospitality Technology. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  9. ^ “Can a robot rule the restaurant? Cali Group says yes – Franchise Times – February 2020 – FranchiseTimes.com”. www.franchisetimes.com. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  10. ^ Morath, Julie Jargon and Eric (24 June 2018). “Short of Workers, Fast-Food Restaurants Turn to Robots”. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  11. ^ a b “CaliBurger chain rolls out burger-flipping robot – CEO John Miller discusses moving towards automation”. Fox News. 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  12. ^ Moore, Cortney (24 March 2020). “Coronavirus fever checks, facial recognition implemented by burger chain”. FOXBusiness. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  13. ^ “Cali Group CEO John Miller expands company into new restaurant technologies”. Nation’s Restaurant News. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  14. ^ Plumb, Tierney (2019-10-04). “Robo-Flipping CaliBurger Locates a Home in Tysons Corner”. Eater. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  15. ^ Upton, Nicholas (2020-01-23). “Can a robot rule the restaurant? Cali Group says yes”. franchisetimes.com. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  16. ^ “CaliBurger Locations”. CaliBurger. Archived from the original on 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  17. ^ “CaliBurger Opening Additional Restaurants in the Middle East”. The Cali Group. The Cali Group. 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  18. ^ Patton, Jessica (2019-12-03). “CaliBurger opens in University Village with robots flipping and frying”. News-Press. News-Press. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  19. ^ “CaliBurger – Meet Flippy, our new kitchen assistant”. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  20. ^ Vincent, James (2020-10-08). “This robot fry chef on rails can be yours for $30,000 – Miso Robotics’ machines can flip burgers and dunk fries”. The Verge. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  21. ^ Graham, Jefferson (August 30, 2018). “Flippy the robot hamburger flipper has a new gig – at Dodger Stadium”. USA Today.
  22. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (July 14, 2020). “White Castle becomes the first fast food chain to test out the robot fry cook, Flippy, from Miso Robotics”. TechCrunch.
  23. ^ Mlot, Stephanie (July 15, 2020). “Meet White Castle’s new robot chef, Flippy”. Mashable.
  24. ^ Hamstra, Mark (January 22, 2020). “Cali Group CEO John Miller expands company into new restaurant technologies”. Nation’s Restaurant News.
  25. ^ Lindzon, Jared (November 10, 2022). “A Fry Cook That Won’t Get Burned”. Time.
  26. ^ Crowe, Steve (February 15, 2022). “White Castle installing Flippy 2 frying robots at 100 locations”. The Robot Report.
  27. ^ Wessling, Brianna (April 26, 2022). “Jack in the Box to pilot Miso Robotics’ Flippy”. The Robot Report.
  28. ^ Galloway, Kayla (September 27, 2022). “A Robot Will Make the Tortilla Chips at This Orange County Chipotle Location Starting Next Month”. KNBC.
  29. ^ Hamstra, Mark (2020-01-22). “Cali Group CEO John Miller expands company into new restaurant technologies”. NRN. Retrieved 2026-05-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ “Expanding In-Store Biometric Payments With PopID”. J.P. Morgan. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  31. ^ “PopID deploys first U.S. facial recognition payment network for shops and restaurants in Pasadena”. Biometric Update. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  32. ^ “Steak n Shake Is the First National Restaurant Chain to Deploy Biometric Check-in and Checkout in All Stores Nationwide”. CaliGroup. April 18, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  33. ^ “Visa, FIFA, PopID bring face biometrics payment to the World Cup”. Biometric Update. November 22, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  34. ^ “Biometrics Trusted For Payments At FIFA World Cup 2022”. M2SYS. December 9, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  35. ^ “Jennifer Garner’s New BF John Miller: Everything We Know About His Divorce”. Us Weekly. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  36. ^ “John Miller’s Ex Finds Out That Her Divorce Is Finalized on the Internet”. Us Weekly. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  37. ^ “Jennifer Garner and New Boyfriend John Miller Step Out for Smiley Date Night in L.A.” PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  38. ^ “Jennifer Garner Steps Out with John Miller, Almost a Year After They Were First Seen Together”. PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  39. ^ “Jennifer Garner and Boyfriend John Miller Break Up After Almost 2 Years Together”. E! Online. 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  40. ^ “Jennifer Garner ‘tends to set boundaries’ with boyfriend John Miller: Insider”. Geo. April 16, 2022.
  41. ^ “Jennifer Garner and John Miller Spotted in New York”. E Online. 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  42. ^ “Jennifer Garner Gives Back For Her 50th Birthday … Hosts Food Drive At Her Home”. tmz. 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.