Bear Robotics, a robotics and AI company backed by SoftBank, announced in March 2022 that it had raised $81 million in a Series B funding round. Among the investors was Cleveland Avenue, a venture capital firm created by a former McDonald’s CEO, South Korean telecommunications company KT Corp, and private equity firm IMM.
In January 2020, Bear Robotics and SoftBank Robotics Group introduced a new robot dubbed Servi to the food service and hospitality industries. It raised $32 million in the Series A round, bringing its total capital to $117 million with this latest round.
The decision to create Servi was made when Japanese restaurants faced a labor shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Meet Servi
Servi, Bear’s flagship product, is a fully autonomous food service robot. It also comes in a smaller size, which is appropriately called the Servi Mini. According to Bear Robotics’ specifications, it can operate continuously for 8 to 12 hours on a single four-hour charge, depending on the configuration. The design is simple and practical, with no resemblance to the humanoid forms of Softbank Robotics’ Pepper robot or Boston Dynamics’ Spot quadruped design.
Servi weighs 33 kg, measures 445 x 430 x 1046 mm, and can carry a payload of up to 30 kg. Each device can load two trays and features a drawer for collecting dishes, allowing it to replace or assist servers in a restaurant. In addition, it has a touch screen, a 3D camera, LiDAR sensor for navigation, and it can be controlled remotely using a tablet.
The food-serving robot can navigate the room, detecting and avoiding obstacles, particularly avoiding collisions with people. The robot can deliver orders and serve as an assistant server, carrying dirty dishes to the sink. Replaceable trays support Servi’s versatility. In addition, several robots can work in tandem. Servi is claimed to boost the establishment’s efficiency and customer service quality.
Big-Name Partners
Major corporations, including Google, Denny’s, Chili’s, Pepsi, and Marriott, have teamed with Bear Robotics. The company has delivered over 5,000 Servi food service robots to restaurants, casinos, and senior care facilities. Bear’s clients in the restaurant industry include Chili’s, Denny’s, and Hwy55. Customers have access to dashboards to manage and monitor their units.
The company claims its Servi robots have operated for 9,000 hours and covered more than 335,000 miles while making 28 million deliveries. According to Juan Higueros, co-founder and COO of Bear Robotics, Servi has an operating cost of just 19 per day and is available in the United States for a monthly fee of $599 with a 36-month payment option. Other payment options are available.
Future Plans
Bear Robotics plans to use the recently obtained funding to develop new products and broaden its market reach. It also intends to recruit new talent. “Achieving this next round of funding is a key milestone for us to be able to accelerate our product roadmap and expand our go-to-market initiatives with our partners,” said Higueros.
The company plans to release two robots eventually: one can assess air quality on the move, and another can transport packages from a building’s lobby to the upper floors via the elevator.
