Nuro Launches R3, Kernel Reopens Midtown Restaurant
Nuro Launches R3, Kernel Reopens Midtown Restaurant
Serve stock surges, Chipotle teases automation
Wow oh wow has it been a busy few days! Not only do we have exclusive new photos from Kernel’s reopened restaurant, there’s almost too much AV news to count, and even more stories that didn’t make the full cut (so be sure to check out that bottom links section.)
Kernel Reopens NYC Restaurant, with New Decor and Seating
Earlier this month we reported that Kernel, the hot robo-powered restaurant helmed by Steve Ells, was closing its Midtown NYC dining room, while also launching a new delivery offering. Staffers made quick work of that closure, with the new dining space now open, featuring a more inviting color palette and added space to enjoy the brand’s veggie-forward offerings. Friend of Ottomate Greg Lindsay stopped in on a recent lunch hour and reported that “Ambience was fine and my salad delicious.”
Nuro R3 Receives CA DMV Approval
Autonomous delivery player Nuro is getting back into the swing of things, having just received approval from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test its new R3 vehicle. The company first teased its third-gen vehicle, which features Level 4 autonomy and a top speed of 45 MPH, back in 2022, but can now hit the streets in the SF Bay Area suburbs of Mountain View, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Los Altos. Nuro has a ten-year long partnership signed with Uber Eats, with the 3PD planning to deploy the delivery-only AV in the Bay Area this fall, followed by deployment in Houston.
Serve Stock Surges
Serve Robotics’ stock popped earlier this month, after Nvidia filed a Schedule 13G, noting it held 10% of the delivery bot player’s shares. But this wasn’t a new transaction by Nvidia, the chipmaker has been an investor for quite some time, and that was even reiterated in Serve’s S-1 prior to its public listing. The company was able to quickly capitalize on the demand, selling $15M worth of new shares to a middleman that can resell them in the open market. That deal featured a strike price of $6/share, which seems like quite the discount now that the stock is nearing $20 after Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang gave Serve a shoutout at Siggraph.
More AV News
Nuro and Serve weren’t the only autonomous players making big news over the past few days. Alphabet committed to spend $5 billion on Waymo, while also teaming up with Zeekr on new robotaxi vehicles. (More photos here.) GM’s Cruise is giving up on its Origin vehicle but looking to resume driverless trips by year’s end. Elon Musk is promising robotaxis by October in the face of a weak earnings report. Kodiak Robotics signed a driver-as-a-service agreement with Atlas Energy. Applied Intuition raised a $300M secondary round. China’s WeRide is looking at a US-based IPO. And Vayu Robotics debuted a new lidar-free delivery bot that can roam on city streets.
Chipotle Teases Robotic Progress
Chipotle released its Q2 2024 financial results, with restaurant traffic up an impressive 8.7%, leading to total revenue of $2.97 billion. On an earnings call, CEO Brian Niccols teased a number of new technologies that the chain is advancing, including dual-sided grills that cut cooking time in half. Its more impressive technologies, such as Vebu’s Autocado and Hyphen’s makeline, are going through their final checks before in-restaurant pilots, with the Hyphen makeline scheduled to be tested in restaurants by August or early September.
In Other News
Aldi and Rewe test food vending machines (more useful in countries that still restrict market hours on Sundays.) Presto may be taken over by its lenders. Vertical farming startups struggle. Malaysia mulls building mega data center near Singapore. Tesollo debuts 3-finger robotic gripper. Automation lifts Kroger’s quarterly earnings. False advertising class action suit targets Meati’s fungus-based proteins. Stellantis spins off robo-maker Comau. New dataset for metropolitan areas.