The funding round was led by Korean alternative investment firm IMM Investment
The Servi and Servi Mini robots from Bear Robotics. (Credit: Business Wire)
Bear Robotics, a Silicon Valley-based hospitality robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions provider, has raised $81m in a Series B funding round.
The funding round was led by new investor IMM Investment, a Korean alternative investment firm. It also saw participation from venture capital firm Cleveland Avenue and other existing investors.
So far, Bear Robotics has secured $117m in total funding. This includes $32m raised in a Series A funding round announced in January 2020, that was led by SoftBank.
The company by leveraging AI and self-driving technology deploys robots to handle everything from serving drinks to food running and table bussing to enable hosts and waitstaff to focus on delivering service.
Its robots are said to be in use across a variety of restaurants, hotels, corporate campuses, senior care facilities, ghost kitchens, and casinos in North America and Asia.
Bear Robotics’ flagship product is Servi, which has been designed as an all-in-one, fully autonomous mobile robotics solution to the daily repetitive work that hospitality employees have to carry out.
Bear Robotics CEO and founder John Ha said: “Having started my own restaurant years ago, I learned firsthand just how hard things could get.
“I thought there must be a way to automate some of these repetitive tasks without losing what makes a restaurant great. That’s why we created Servi.
“It’s a solution meant to enhance the experience of customers, employees, and operators. While others are trying to fully automate work, we’re trying to elevate the future of work for stakeholders in this industry that keep it going each day.”
The hospitality robotics solutions provider plans to use the Series B proceeds to expedite its efforts in introducing new products that complement the growing requirement for automation in the hospitality sector.
The company also plans to invest in growing its presence in new markets around the world. Furthermore, Bear Robotics will utilise the investment to recruit additional top talent.