“Ottobots, roll out!” Autonomous delivery startup Ottonomy, announced that it’s closed on a $3.33 million funding round.
The funding round, which brought Ottonomy’s total funding to some $4.9 million so far, was led by pi Ventures, a venture fund that backs product and technology companies. Connetic Ventures, Branded Hospitality Ventures, and the founder & CEO of Addverb Technologies, Sangeet Kumar, also joined this funding round, making a mixture of investors from the retail, food, and robotics industries.
Ottonomy’s “Ottobots” are meant to help with last mile delivery, and earlier this year the robots became the world’s first autonomous robots to deliver food, beverages, and travel retail items at airports. The company has now announced the Ottobot 2.0, which will feature fully customizable modular compartments, increased access for customers, and directional mobility, including a “crab mode,” similar to the one GM uses in its colossal GMC Hummer EV.
The Ottobots have already gotten positive response from customers at Cincinnati International Airport, so the company has since started partnerships with various airports across the U.S. and Europe. Ottonomy is also looking to partner with Fortune 500 companies for wider adoption in the retail and restaurant industries across North America.
“Last mile delivery is the least productive, yet the most expensive part of the delivery chain. There is a strong need for automation, which Ottonomy fulfills with Ottobots,” said Roopan Aulakh, managing director from pi Ventures. “Ottobots are equipped with a sophisticated tech stack both at hardware and AI level. The founding team here brings years of multi-functional robotics experience, reflecting in the world class product that they have built and commercialized.”
“The team and I have been deeply vested into autonomous driving for more than a decade. We believe fully autonomous delivery robots are not only a precursor to autonomous vehicle proliferation but are solving today’s biggest challenges like – the labor shortage; enabling staff to do more with less,” said Ottonomy co-founder and CEO Ritukar Vijay. “Introducing Ottobot 2.0, we are bringing best in class maneuverability, accessibility and modularity to our fully autonomous robots; which sets us ahead of our competition.”
Ottobot 2.0 Last-mile Delivery Robot
SOURCE | IMAGES: OTTONOMY, VA PR NEWSWIRE.
