Serve Robotics has been making a lot of waves as of late, including a team-up with 7-Eleven to handle 7NOW deliveries in Los Angeles. But the company’s recently announced equity crowdfunding campaign has been generating even more buzz in industry circles. I sat down (virtually) with Serve’s Chief Communications Officer Aduke Thelwell, to get additional insights on the fundraising.

Jonah Bliss: What attracted Serve to equity crowdfunding as a new funding source?

Aduke Thelwell: Having raised over $42 million since spinning out of Uber in 2021, we have been fortunate to be supported by institutional and strategic investors. However we are regularly contacted by people who’ve received a Serve delivery or heard about our robots and want to invest. As a private company, we are required to comply with SEC’s Regulation Crowdfunding in order to offer securities to non-accredited investors. By doing so, our goal is to invite the communities we serve to participate in the growth we foresee in this sector.

JB: How long have you been working on this campaign? 

We started exploring this back in 2021 when Vebu Labs (formerly Wavemaker Labs) led our seed round and joined our board. They demonstrated significant success in raising over $100 million of dollars for their portfolio companies. 

AT: How much are you aiming to raise, and how do you hope to deploy the capital?