Robomart

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Robomart
Type of site
Private
FoundedJanuary 2018; 6 years ago (2018-01)
Headquarters
Santa Monica, California
,
U.S.
Area servedWest Hollywood, CA
Founder(s)
  • Ali Ahmed
  • Emad Suhail Rahim
  • Tigran Shahverdyan
Key people
  • Ali Ahmed (CEO)
  • Tigran Shahverdyan (CTO)
  • Emad Suhail Rahim (CSO)
  • Christian Huff (CFO)
IndustryRetail
ServicesRobotics
URLrobomart.ai

Robomart is an American technology company headquartered in Santa Monica, California that builds autonomous smart shops for cafes, ice cream parlors, and quick-service restaurants. The company’s white label platform gives retailers the option to expand their footprint at a significantly lower cost than traditional brick-and-mortar real-estate.[1][2]

Robomarts are equipped with a proprietary checkout-free system, temperature controlled compartments, sensors for autonomous operation, and external cameras for added security. [3][4][5]

The company licenses its technology and white label applications to retailers who manage their fleet of stores and deploy them to their consumers’ locations. After consumers have taken goods from the robomart, their order is automatically calculated, their card on file is charged and they are sent a receipt.[6][7]

The company has announced partnerships with Unilever, Mars, and Fatty Mart.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

History

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The inside of a Robomart in West Hollywood, California

Robomart was founded by Ali Ahmed, Tigran Shahverdyan, and Emad Suhail Rahim.[16][17] The company debuted at CES 2018 where it unveiled its concept of a self-driving store.[18]

At GITEX 2018 the company presented its first functional prototype of a fully driverless Robomart. At the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show the company demonstrated the technology behind its autonomous stores and checkout-free shopping experience.[19]

Robomart prototype at CES 2019

In January 2019, Robomart announced its first partnership with U.S. grocery chain Stop & Shop to test its driverless stores.[20][21]

In December 2020, Robomart deployed the Pharmacy Robomart in a trial in West Hollywood.[22]

In June 2021, the company launched its commercial service with a fleet of Pharmacy and Snacks Robomarts operating within West Hollywood and Central Hollywood.[23][24]

In August 2023, Robomart announced a $2 million seed round, putting its to-date funding at $3.4 million[25].

Partnerships

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In September 2019, Robomart partnered with Avery Dennison to source the RFID tags used to enable its checkout-free shopping experience.[26] In December 2020, Robomart partnered with Zeeba Vans to provide vehicles for its growing fleet.[27] In June 2021, Robomart partnered with REEF Technology to provide inventory management and restocking services. In addition, REEF's Light Speed grocery division serves as the first merchant selling products through Robomart.[24]

Products

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The company currently offers three Robomart types. The frozen Robomart that stocks ice cream, the refrigerated Robomart that stocks perishable foods, and the ambient Robomart that stocks shelf-stable goods.[28]

References

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  1. ^ Stern, Matthew (7 May 2021). "Will store-hailing revolutionize grocery delivery?". RetailWire.
  2. ^ Baxter, Amy (29 June 2021). "Store-Hailing Platform Robomart Launches in California". Retail Leader.
  3. ^ Brooks, Ethan (22 December 2020). "Robomart doesn't deliver products… it delivers the entire store". The Hustle.
  4. ^ "Robomart 'grocery on wheels' debuts at CES". Kiosk Marketplace. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  5. ^ "RFID-enabled ice cream truck comes when hailed". RFID Journal. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  6. ^ Swedberg, Claire (29 January 2019). "Driverless Mobile Store Leverages RFID to Bring Food to Customers". Archived from the original on August 11, 2021.
  7. ^ Billington, Francesca (15 July 2021). "Traffic Woes? In West Hollywood, the Pharmacy Comes to Your House". dot.LA.
  8. ^ "Stores On Wheels Startup Robomart Gains Momentum With Unilever Partnership". Forbes. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  9. ^ "Robomart, Unilever Ice Cream Truck". Grocery Dive. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  10. ^ "Unilever to launch fleet of driverless ice cream vans using Robomart autonomous vehicles". Robotics and Automation News. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  11. ^ "On-Demand Automated Ice Cream Shops Launch in LA". IoT World Today. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  12. ^ "Store-hailing mobile ice cream markets roll into Hollywood". Grocery Dive. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  13. ^ "Mars Ice Cream Delivery". The Current Media. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  14. ^ "Mars Taps Store-Hailing for D2C Ice Cream Sales". PYMNTS. 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  15. ^ "Robomart raises $2M, Ziki acquires". OttoMATE News. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  16. ^ Sengupta, Abhishek (16 October 2018). "World's first driverless grocery store in Dubai soon?". Khaleej Times.
  17. ^ "Driverless Mobile Store Leverages RFID to Bring Food to Customers - 2019-01-29 - Page 1". www.rfidjournal.com. 29 January 2019.
  18. ^ Kelly, Heather (11 January 2018). "Do we really need a self-driving on-demand corner store?". CNNMoney.
  19. ^ Albrecht, Chris. "CES 2019: Robby and Robomart are Bringing Mobile Commerce to the Masses". The Spoon.
  20. ^ Frangoul, Anmar (17 January 2019). "Driverless grocery vehicles coming to Boston area". www.cnbc.com.
  21. ^ Lee, Dami (16 January 2019). "Stop & Shop is testing self-driving mini grocery stores". The Verge.
  22. ^ Heater, Brian (15 December 2020). "Robomart launches its mobile convenience store in beta for West Hollywood residents". TechCrunch.
  23. ^ Smith, Kevin. "Hail a snack? Robomart brings the mini-mart to your door". Los Angeles Daily News.
  24. ^ a b Wolf, Michael (25 June 2021). "'Store-Hailing' Startup Robomart Launches Fleet of Mobile Mini-marts in West Hollywood". The Spoon.
  25. ^ Heater, Brian (2023-08-14). "Robomart is banking on 'store-hailing' to bring self-driving stores directly to customers". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  26. ^ "Robomart and Avery Dennison Collaborate to Enable Frictionless Checkout-Free Experience". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). September 16, 2019.
  27. ^ Heater, Brian. "Robomart launches its mobile convenience store in beta for West Hollywood residents". TechCrunch.
  28. ^ Redman, Russell (28 June 2021). "Robomart store on wheels gets under way". www.supermarketnews.com.
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