Nuro, Loxo, Serve & Kiwibot Drive Autonomous Deliveries Forward
Meet Biryaniman, Caper Carts head to APAC
The self driving (and delivering) robots are really on the loose today, as we’ve got big updates from the likes of Nuro, LOXO, Serve and Kiwibot. But if that doesn’t tickle your fancy, keep reading to meet the new machines that can whip up biryani, as well as an American company headed to Australia.
Nuro Expands L4 Deployments in Texas, California
Nuro announced the expansion of its on-road autonomous delivery vehicle service, now covering 83% more service area in Mountain View and Palo Alto, CA, and 70% more service area in Houston, TX. The Bay Area-based company’s also improving its Level 4 autonomy tech stack, which now can operate on multi-lane roads at speeds of up to 35 MPH, as well as at night.
LOXO Expands to Germany
Across the Atlantic, another autonomous delivery vehicle startup is also expanding, as Switzerland’s LOXO enters the Munich, Germany market. LOXO’s hardware looks like a cross between Nuro and Robomart, features Level 4 autonomy as well as remote operations, and works with European giants like Schindler and Migros.
Kiwibot Debuts Robotic Rentals
On the smaller scale, Kiwibot has unveiled its new "rent-a-robot" service, offering flexible robotic solutions for advertising, delivery, and warehouse logistics. The service includes Kiwibot Cargo, designed for warehouse transport of up to 33 pounds; Kiwibot Advertising, featuring customizable ad displays for urban branding campaigns; and Kiwibot Leap, its last-mile delivery option. With wireless charging, insurance coverage, and compliance with U.S. mobility regulations, the rental service aims to tackle labor shortages and operational inefficiencies.
Serve Robotics Talks Vebu Acquisition
Serve Robotics turned heads last week with its acquisition of Vebu, maker of Chipotle’s guacamole smashing Autocado. Ottomate caught up with Serve CEO Ali Kashani, who noted “By bringing the Vebu team on board, we're ramping up our efforts in kitchen automation. Big food chains don’t have a lot of time to test new tech, so by offering both kitchen and curbside solutions, we’re becoming a one-stop shop for their needs—a real competitive edge. Vebu and Serve are tackling the same problems (labor shortage) using similar technology (AI and robotics) for the same partners. This will deep our relationships with national chains, and as we expand our delivery footprint, it’ll help us move even faster together."
As part of the deal, Vebu’s founder and CEO Buck Jordan will join Serve Robotics as SVP of Kitchen Automation. Ali added that “Vebu’s founder, Buck Jordan, was one of Serve’s earliest backers and our relationship with him began early in Serve's journey. The idea of joining forces was also discussed from early days and with Serve entering its growth phase and engaging with restaurant chains as we scale our fleet, this seemed like the right time.” The company also just appointed Anthony Armenta, formerly of Postmates and GM Brightdrop, as Chief Software & Data Officer
Caper Carts Head to Australia
Instacart’s smart shopping cart — The Caper Cart — is making its first foray down under, thanks to a new deal with Australian supermarket chain Coles. Coles is one of the country’s largest retailers, with stores across the country, although the carts will first appear in Melbourne. Also note that evidently Aussies call them “trolleys,” how cute!
Nala Robotics Introduces Biryaniman
Nala Robotics, with offices in Chicagoland and Hyderabad, has something new up its robotic arm’s sleeve… a biryani making robot! Dubbed Biryaniman, the machine can make up to 100 variations of the popular southeast asian rice dish. The new robot joins Nala’s roster of pizza makers, fryers, dishwashers and more.
In Other News
Top takeaways from the HNGRY Summit. Robust AI debuts a warehouse bot meant to work alongside humans. Founder of TuSimple opposes asset transfer to China. Pony AI targets $224M from IPO. Waymo ditches waitlist in LA. Meet the robot dogs patrolling Mar-A-Lago.