Sodexo is Becoming a College Food Automation Powerhouse

Company has invested in Kiwibot, and now has partnerships with AiFi and Yo-Kai Express.

Image via Kiwibot

The News

• Sodexo has made a number of moves so far this year to solidify its position as a leader in the food automation space. Yesterday, Sodexo announced partnerships with AiFi to create Eat>NOW autonomous campus grocery stores, and with Yo-Kai Express to bring Yo-Kai’s hot ramen vending machines to more campuses.

• In February, Sodexo participated in Kiwibot’s $7.5 million Pre-Series A round of funding.

• Further signaling the opportunity in the college market, Starship today released the results of a survey of 7,000 college students. Among the findings: More than 60 percent said they order robot delivery once a week, and 64 percent they didn’t skip meals because they could avoid long lines for food.

The Story

March Madness may be almost over, but Sodexo’s automation ambitions on college campuses are just getting warmed up.

The foodservice giant announced yesterday partnerships with cashierless checkout startup AiFi and with Yo-Kai Express, which makes hot ramen vending machines. This follows Sodexo’s investment and strategic partnership with robot delivery company Kiwibot back in February.

College campuses will be among the first locations to adopt and benefit from food automation — and Sodexo has now equipped itself to take the leadership role in that space.

Here’s why Sodexo is giving it the ole college try when it comes to food automation.