It’s a good week for robotics and automation, thanks to some new partnerships, expanded deployments and fresh money in the bank; let’s get to the news!
EVENTS | Last Call for Super Early Bird Curbivore Tickets
You’ve got just a few days left to score discounted tickets to Curbivore! Join us April 10th and 11th in Downtown LA, as we bring together the worlds of delivery, mobility, robotics and automation. Register now for just $195 — ticket prices jump this weekend!
Grubhub Brings Avride to The Ohio State
Grubhub is teaming up with another autonomous delivery robotics startup, with Austin, TX-based Avride joining the network to serve The Ohio State University. The partnership starts with 100 robots, operating in wintery conditions. While Grubhub may be the 3rd place 3PD, campuses and robotics have emerged for a real bright spot for the company: Grubhub Campus Dining works with over 360 schools, while the company’s roster of robots includes Kiwibot and Starship. Previously, Grubhub serviced OSU via a partnership with Cartken; as part of its July fundraising, Cartken noted it was pushing into indoor AMR operations.
Amazon Prime Air Comes to the UK
While it may be struggling in the United States, Amazon is pushing ahead with its airborne ambitions globally. The ecommerce giant intends to begin testing its drone delivery operations from a fulfillment centre in Darlington, in North East England, and is now working with the Civil Aviation Authority. Elsewhere in European drone-dom, Manna has begun testing wintertime operations with Wolt in Finland.
Chili’s Goes All in on TurboChefs
Fast casual giant Brinker International reported strong quarterly results, with overall net income up 181.47%, helped by a 31.4% increase in same-store sales for Chili’s Grill & Bar. CEO Kevin Hochman credits much of the improvement to the company’s recent investment in new, more advanced equipment. “We have decided to accelerate the conversion of the balance of our restaurants to Turbo Chefs, which are ovens that use a combination of modern cooking methods to rapidly accelerate cooking vs. conventional ovens today,” noted Hochman. “The majority of our system uses conveyor-belt ovens that cook a variety of menu items like ribs, chicken, and quesadillas.”
“We've been testing Turbo Chefs and restaurants and slowly expanding them for the past three years with very positive feedback from the operators. They cook the food much faster and much more evenly. They put out less heat, making the kitchen more comfortable for our team members. And they create superior-tasting products like crispier quesadillas and ribs with a delicious crust.”
Let this be a good reminder to many in the restaurant automation space that a great machine doesn’t need to look like a humanoid or do 10,000 things, it just needs to use less space, cook more quickly, or let humans concentrate on more valuable parts of the job.
Bonsai Robotics Raises $15 Million
Bonsai Robotics has closed on a $15 million Series A round of financing, as the Davis, California-based startup looks to bring its “Visionsteer” vision-based automation and autonomy to farmers, growers and equipment manufacturers. The company’s founders have esteemed pedigrees at John Deere and Airbus, and its investors include Bison Ventures, Cibus Capital, Acre Venture Partners, Congruent Ventures, Fall Line Capital, E14 Fund, SNR, and Serra Ventures.
In Other News
Waabi ups autonomous trucking partnership with Volvo. DroneDeploy granted BVLOS approval. Secure your tickets to Curbivore — prices jump this weekend!