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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

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Is LG’s Majority Stake in Bear Robotics a Sign That Food Robotics Is About to Have Its Moment?

Late last week, LG Electronics announced it had acquired a majority stake in Bear Robotics, increasing its ownership of the San Francisco-based startup from 21% to 51%. According to South Korean newspaper The Dong-A Ilbo, LG initially acquired its 21% stake in early 2024 for $60 million. The company values its latest stake at $180 million, giving Bear Robotics an overall valuation of $600 million.

While a 60%-of-a-billion-dollar valuation might not compare to the staggering figures often associated with AI startups—though recent events, such as China’s DeepThink’s troubles, may prompt reevaluations—it’s a really good valuation for a food tech company, especially in the challenging food robotics sector.

Where Are All The Unicorns?

Anyone who’s been following The Spoon (we were the first publication to write about Bear Robotics in early 2018) knows food robotics startups have had a tough go of it the last few years. High-profile flameouts like Zume have dominated headlines, while quieter exits, such as Mezli and Vebu, have underscored how challenging this is.

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ebu, formerly Wavemaker Labs, played a pivotal role in launching Miso Robotics, creator of the Flippy burger bot, along with other food robotics concepts like Piestro and Bobacino. However, by the time Serve Robotics acquired Vebu Labs last fall, its only notable product in the portfolio was the Autocado, an avocado-coring robot adopted by Chipotle.

Bear Robotics, however, has achieved steady traction in the restaurant and food service industry. This success, combined with LG’s strategic plans to develop a service robot platform for commercial and home applications, has driven its higher valuation. As The Dong-A Ilbo reported, LG plans to create an integrated solution platform that “encompasses commercial, industrial, and home robots” using Bear Robotics’ software to manage various robot products through a unified system.

Service Robots Over Food-Making Robots

What Bear doesn’t provide LG with is an actual food-making robot; instead, it offers a fairly open platform for service robotics in restaurants and other hospitality spaces. At this point, it’s still unclear whether there will be the same level of interest in food-making robots. Some players, like Picnic and Miso, continue to make progress, but they face significant competition for what is undoubtedly a limited number of big quick-service and fast-casual chains that have yet to acquire their own solutions.

Could Serve and Starship be next?

As major tech companies and consumer brands increasingly view robotics as critical to their future strategies—in what Nvidia’s CEO has called “physical AI”—it’s likely that we’ll see more acquisitions in the service and delivery robotics space. Companies with limited proprietary IP (and my sense is LG didn’t have much here) may be particularly desperate to snap up firms similar to Bear that have been around enough to create a foundation of discernable IP and a varied set of products and build a customer base.

Potential acquisition candidates include Serve Robotics, known for its sidewalk delivery robots, and Starship Technologies, a leader in autonomous delivery systems. Both companies have gained traction but operate in an environment where consolidation is becoming inevitable.

Is IdeaLab’s Bill Gross Building a Food Prep and Delivery Robot?

Every now and then, an interesting patent appears in patent searches that make you wonder exactly what someone’s up to. Now, don’t get me wrong. Patents are issued all the time, and most of the time, a real product or business isn’t created. But when it comes to someone like IdeaLab‘s Bill Gross – an inventor known for creating dozens of products and companies – you have to wonder what he’s got up his sleeve.

First, let’s look at the patent. Granted B1 status yesterday, the patent, US 11738466 B1, is titled “Robot For Preparing And Delivering Food Items” The patent description goes on to describe just that:

The automated food preparation and delivery robot comprises a communications system configured to receive a food order and address from a customer, a navigation system configured to automatically drive the vehicle to the address, and an automated food preparation system configured to prepare food in accordance with the food order while en route to the customer address.

The automated food preparation system is configured to determine a drive time to travel to the customer address, and determine a preparation time to prepare the food in accordance with the food order. If the drive time is greater than the preparation time, the robot waits and then begins preparing the food after a delay substantially equal to the drive time minus the preparation time. In this manner, preparation of the food coincides with arrival at the customer address.

We’ve seen lots of crazy ideas that tie together mobility and cooking, but this is the first one that I’ve seen that is a fully autonomous robotic vehicle and food prep all in one:

The invention in the preferred embodiment is an automated food preparation and delivery robot configured to prepare food orders while en route to a customer address, without the aid of a person on the vehicle. The automated food preparation and delivery robot comprises: a vehicle, a communications system configured to receive a food order and address from a customer, a navigation system configured to automatically drive the vehicle to the address; and an automated food preparation system configured to prepare the food in accordance with the food order while en route to the customer address and dispense the food upon arrival.

Here’s a figure from the patent that outlines the sequence of processing a food order:

Definitely ambitious and kinda crazy, especially considering past venture-funded ideas that combines food, automation and mobility haven’t exactly been successful at this point.

On the other hand, this is Bill Gross, a well-known inventor and successful entrepreneur. And since Gross, who runs one of the longest-running Silicon Valley technology incubators around, is listed as the sole inventor on the patent, my guess is this is an idea he’s at least somewhat invested in.

Still, it’s yet to be seen whether or not he’s planning on productizing the concept. Like I said, most patented ideas remain just that, ideas. But given Gross’s history of both founding successful companies and a deep interest in robotics – he was a co-founder of Evolution Robotics, a maker of cleaning robots acquired in 2012 by iRobot – it’s worth keeping an eye on.

I’ve reached out to Gross for comment, and I’ll let you know what I hear.

Serve Robotics Adds Former GoPro Exec To Lead Development of Autonomous Sidewalk Robots

Serve Robotics has hired Euan Abraham to head up the development of the company’s autonomous sidewalk delivery robots, the company has told The Spoon. Abraham, who in the past led the development of GoPro’s Karma drone and has also had stints leading engineering teams at Apple and smart lock company Otto, will become the company’s Vice President of Hardware Engineering effective January 2022.

The new hire is a sign the company is entering a new phase, according to Serve’s CEO, Ali Kashani, who sat down with The Spoon this week to talk about the hiring of Abraham.

A big focus for Abraham will be to take a company that has primarily been focused early on developing a robot and optimizing its capabilities through its initial trials in West Hollywood to one that can deploy large fleets at scale across multiple markets.

“This is a space that has kind of reached readiness for scale,” Kashani told The Spoon. “So we are at a very pivotal point where we are no longer trying to develop something. We have developed something, and now we are putting it to use.”

It’s not just about scaling but getting better, according to Kashani. “It’s easy to get distracted with scale where you lose your innovative edge. We want to continue to iterate on our hardware, and we don’t want to stop here. We want to keep making it better.”

The areas where Kashani thinks Serve can get better are areas where he believes the company already stands out from its peer group, the first of which is autonomy. He says Serve’s robots do most of the driving themselves, which has enabled Serve’s human teleoperators to manage more than one robot at a time.

This high level of autonomy wouldn’t be possible without the Serve’s built-in safety systems, another area where Kashani believes his robots stand out.

“Our robots have a lot of onboard safety mechanisms so that they can be independent. They can be there by themselves.,” Kashani said. “At the same time, they also have people backing them up. So we have the best of both worlds.”

Serve’s other major differentiator isn’t a technical one, but it may be the company’s biggest ace in the hole: its relationship with Uber. Earlier this year, Uber spun out the robot group which it had acquired as part of the Postmates acquisition, and this month, Serve announced that Uber would be the company’s first commercial partner. The two companies plan to roll out a fleet of robots to deliver food to Uber Eats customers across the LA market in 2022.

While Abraham’s hiring is undoubtedly a significant strategic move for the company, Kashani says they aren’t done. With Uber’s rollout of autonomous delivery and Serve eyeing new markets like the Bay area, Kashani says Serve has several areas the company is looking for more talent, including autonomous driving, operations, supply chain, and HR.

“We are always looking for kind of more folks to join,” Kashani said. “It’s a never-ending kind of story.

Delivers AI Robots Making Deliveries in Turkey

You know those RVs that have a map of the U.S. on their spare tire cover? The maps illustrating where those driving nomads have been? I should get a map like that, only of the countries of the world and fill it in wherever delivery robots pop up, given how quickly those li’l rover bots are proliferating around the globe.

In addition to the U.S., England, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia (and more that I’m unaware of at this time), we can add Turkey to the delivery robot list, thanks to Delivers AI.

Delivers AI - Autonomous Delivery Robot / Europe

Like Starship, Woowa Brothers and Yandex, Delivers AI also creates cooler-sized robots that autonomously wheel around sidewalks and streets to make food and grocery deliveries. Delivers AI robots travel 6 – 7 km/hour and can carry 15 kg (33 lbs.). They are equipped with camera, LiDAR and radar to detect and avoid obstacles, people and traffic. While the robots are autonomous, a human still monitors and supervises the robot while it travels.

Right now, Delivers AI robots are making commercial deliveries in Instanbul, Turkey. According to an email from Delivers AI Founder and CEO, Ali Kutay YARALI, his company will have 10 robots in Q1 of 2021, growing its fleet to 100 robots in a year and 1,000 robots in two years. The company has raised $350,000 from undisclosed investors.

Yarali said the company is focused on the European market and will be working with stakeholders there to develop a legal and technical framework for autonomous robotic deployment there.

One factor that could accelerate adoption of delivery robots in Europe is the ongoing pandemic and continued desire for more contactless experiences when it comes to how we get our food. Robots can provide more human-free interactions when for food ordering and delivery. Additionally, robots can operate for long stretches of time without needing a break.

One thing I will be needing is a bigger map.

Panasonic Testing Delivery Robots in Japanese Smart Town

Electronics giant Panasonic announced today that it has started testing autonomous delivery robots on public roads in the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town in Japan. Initial tests started in November; the company aims to begin home delivery tests in February of 2021.

Panasonic said the this first phase will include the home delivery of “packages and products using a smartphone app.” While food wasn’t specifically mentioned in the press release, the company pointed out the growth of food delivery and lack of labor to carry out those deliveries. Additionally, Panasonic talked about the growing need for contactless delivery options, thanks to the pandemic.

Panasonic got permission from Fujisawa City authorities to begin its self-driving tests. The autonomous robots will be connected via a public network, and a human operator will monitor the robots from a control center and take over driving should the need arise.

The city of Fujisawa itself sounds interesting. From Panasonic’s press announcement:

Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town is an urban development project located on the former site of Panasonic’s factory in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, with the participation of 18 groups including Panasonic and Fujisawa City. As a real smart town where more than 2,000 people live, it is working on sustainable urban development while also aiming to solve issues facing society and the community through the implementation of mechanisms jointly designed by the companies, local governments, and residents involved with the town, and through the creation of new services.

Panasonic’s delivery robot move is part of a broader trend, as we see cities from around the world begin rolling out delivery robots on public streets. In Russia, Yandex robots are making restaurant deliveries in Moscow. The Postmates Serve robot is making deliveries from the Pink Dot market in the West Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. And Woowa Brothers delivery robots have started making food deliveries in Seoul, South Korea.

We’ve seen an increase in robot activity since the pandemic forced restaurants, grocery and delivery services to establish contactless delivery options. Robots can remove at least one form of human-to-human interaction when getting your food. But robots have other advantages as well, such as the ability to work around the clock and potentially bring down the cost of delivery, making it more affordable to more people.

But as Panasonic’s announcement shows, there are still legal and technical hurdles that need to be overcome. Even in the smart town it helped form, Panasonic still needs to get permits and run tests before it can dive right in to dropping by someone’s front door.

Yandex Robots Roaming Russia Delivering Restaurant Meals

Robots from Yandex, a tech giant which is kind of like Russia’s Google, have started making restaurant deliveries in the Russian cities of Moscow and Innopolis, the company announced in a corporate blog post today.

The Yandex.Rover robots are six-wheeled, cooler-sized robots similar to those from Starship and Kiwibot. They work in conjunction with Yandex.Eats, the company’s restaurant and grocery delivery service that has more than 30,000 merchants across 166 cities. Via the YandexEats app, users select their desired restaurant and choose the delivery-robot option to get their food delivered by one of the company’s bots. When the order arrives, recipients unlock the bot with their mobile phone.

Yandex’s blog post didn’t mention how many delivery robots are in its fleet in each city, or how big the service areas are. It did note that its robots are delivering in the White Square district, which is in central Moscow and home to many cafes and restaurants, and that robot delivery is free in Innopolis. Yandex said its robots can also handle inclement weather, which I imagine is an important feature for Russian winters.

The global pandemic has increased interest in robot delivery in part because of its contactless nature. Robots don’t get sick and can theoretically work around the clock. In recent months we’ve seen a number of rover robot deployments in different parts of the world. The City of San Jose partnered with Kiwibot over the summer to enable restaurant delivery. Save Mart in Modesto, California started delivering groceries via Starship’s robots. Pink Dot started making robot deliveries via Postmate’s Serve robot in the West Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. And in South Korea, Woowa Brothers started making robot deliveries to an apartment complex in Seoul.

As part of its announcement, Yandex said that in addition to delivering restaurant meals, its robots would also be making grocery deliveries in the future.

City By the Bot: Postmates Gets Permit to Test its “Serve” Delivery Robot in San Francisco

San Francisco has given Postmates the city’s “first-ever permit for sidewalk robotics operations,” according to a story in TechCrunch. The move marks a turn in the city’s official attitude towards delivery robots on its city sidewalks.

Postmates unveiled its rover robot, dubbed Serve, in December of last year, but has been relatively quiet about the program since then. Serve is a cooler sized robot on wheels that can carry 50 pounds, go 25 miles on a charge and uses a combination of cameras, lidar and human assistance when needed to navigate.

But perhaps more intriguing than the robot itself is the city it will, errr, Serve. In December of 2017, the city of San Francisco enacted tight restrictions on the use of commercial sidewalk robots. At the time, San Francisco’s robot ban was seen as part of its attempt by the city to get ahead of a technology issue and avoid the civic complications things like ridesharing and corporate commuter busses created.

But while San Francisco clamped down, nearby cities like Berkeley and Sacramento and other towns across the country like Phoenix and Houston rolled out the welcome mat for delivery robots… at least for testing. Perhaps San Francisco felt that getting ahead of any robotic problems could wind up leaving it behind.

Postmates told TechCrunch that it has “…been eager to work directly with cities to seek a collaborative and inclusive approach to robotic deployment that respects our public rights of way, includes community input, and allows cities to develop thoughtful regulatory regimes,”

The robot delivery sector is certainly heating up this year. In addition to Postmates, rivals Kiwi and Starship have been heading to college campuses, Amazon is testing out its Scout robot in Irivine, CA, and Refraction AI just recently launched its three-wheeled autonomous delivery vehicle.

Postmates raised $100 million at the beginning of this year and is expected to go public later this year. If they follow through, perhaps a robot could ring the opening bell.

Starship More Than Doubled its Robot Delivery Fleet at George Mason University

High school graduation happened last night in my town, which means in a matter of months, most of those kids will be heading off to college. And maybe, if they are lucky, they’ll be heading off to a college that has delivery robots.

As we’ve covered throughout the year, companies like Starship and Kiwi are bringing their li’l rover robots to college campuses like George Mason University, Northern Arizona University, UC Berkeley, Purdue, Cornell, NYU, Stanford, and Harvard. These delivery robots scurry about to bring hungry students snacks and meals.

At George Mason in particular, Starship’s robots are proving quite popular. According to an article yesterday in The Chronicle of Higher Education, George Mason has more than doubled it robot delivery fleet since January, adding 23 robots to the initial order of 20. And GMU is not stopping there: the university plans to add another 15 to the fleet in the fall.

That’s a lot of robots roaming about the quad.

In addition to adding more ‘bots, the popularity of robots also has the school imposing some limits. Starship told me during an interview earlier this year that though the robots could make deliveries 24/7, George Mason limits delivery hours so as not to interfere with students’ sleeping habits.

I used Kiwi’s robot delivery service at Berkeley earlier this year, and while it had its hiccups, the overall experience felt like living in the future. The ability to order food from your phone and have it delivered wherever you have on campus brings news levels of convenience that busy/lazy college students will quickly get used to.

Kiwi Delivery Robots Expand into Los Angeles

If you live in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, you can see sunshine, the occasional movie star, and now delivery robots shuttling food to hungry local denizens.

According to the Daily Bruin, Kiwi Campus started rolling out its delivery robots at the beginning of this month. Westwood is home to UCLA, so this particular expansion makes sense given that Kiwi already operates at and around UC Berkeley.

A spokesperson for Kiwi told the Daily Bruin that the company picked UCLA because of the compact nature of the campus. It probably doesn’t hurt that LA typically has great weather throughout the year, thereby reducing at least one bit of complexity for the autonomous, cooler-sized robots to navigate around.

Kiwi is working with 15 Westwood businesses including Subway, Jamba Juice and Veggie Grill. For now, however, robot deliveries are only being made off campus as Kiwi doesn’t have the necessary permits for them to scurry around campus. Until those are sorted out Kiwi will offer a human delivery person for on-campus deliveries.

Campuses in general are becoming a popular option for robot delivery companies. Earlier this year Kiwi rival Starship announced that it would be deploying 1,000 delivery robots by the end of this year and that campuses (both academic and corporate) would be a major avenue of growth for them.

Starting with campuses is a smart idea for robot delivery. They are like starter cities. First, you have a sizeable audience of students and workers who spend most of their time there. Working on campuses (at least private ones) can also help sidestep some of the municipal legal issues that come with running robots on city streets. Campuses are also typically well maintained, so roads and walkways won’t have as many hazards to navigate.

You might think students would be excited to have futuristic, self-driving robots running around their campus. But the reactions reported by the Daily Bruin were much more negative. Rather than a marvel of technology, students quoted saw them as easy targets for theft, causes of increased congestion and basically just something that won’t catch on.

Of course, if I had movie stars in my backyard, I may feel the same way (but maybe with this expansion Uber will give Kiwi a closer look).