Sodexo strengthens its partnership with robotic delivery start-up Kiwibot to accelerate the transformation of its food model in US universities
On track to expand its robot fleet to 1200 - and serve 50 locations - by the end of 2022, the robot sidewalk delivery company based in the U.S. closed a multimillion-dollar contract. Kiwibot has already 200 robots rolling in 10 campuses.
[Miami/ 15 February 2022] Kiwibot, the Colombian robotic sidewalk delivery startup with a new headquarters in Miami, announced an expanded contract with Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company. This contract will enable the company to expand its robotic fleet, delivering more than 1,200 robots across 50 US college campuses, with SODEXO, by the end of 2022.
"The early success of our Kiwibot partnership has shown that automated delivery is not only possible and reliable, it’s desirable."
"Sodexo is focused on meeting our clients and consumers where they are, and Kiwibot helps us do that. This year, more students than ever will benefit from autonomous delivery, and we’re pleased to be at the forefront of this emerging market."
But it doesn’t stop there. Kiwibot has also raised a Pre-Series A of around US$7.5M from investors, bringing its total raised so far to US$14M. One of the investors is Sodexo, which are doubling down on their efforts to implement safe, convenient food service solutions.
With its cute-proclaimed and semi-autonomous robots, Kiwibot offers in-field customer support and integration with any business’s point-of-sale to distribute food products, without the usual commission rate for food delivery services.
"We have been intensely working in the robotic food delivery field for the last five years, and this funding will allow us to expand the business at the speed that the market is demanding."
"We are set to build the most advanced robot delivery fleet: building 100 robots a month, expanding to exciting locations, and connecting with new partners, universities, and cities to advance safe and equitable mobility with zero-emission solutions."
About Kiwibot
Kiwibot was founded in 2017 and launched its first pilot at the University of California-Berkeley campus. The company is on a mission to revolutionize food delivery by utilizing semi-autonomous robots; they have made over 200,000 deliveries on university campuses and across US cities to boost opportunities for locally-owned businesses and grant equitable access to food, medication, and libraries. The service model allows customers to launch a last-mile delivery system at a fraction of the time and cost, without the hassle of hiring a traditional courier.