Bear Robotics, the US-based developer of robots for the food service industry, has completed a $32m series A round led by telecommunications and internet conglomerate SoftBank.
The round included Line Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of messaging platform Line Corporation, as well as diversified conglomerate Lotte Group, video game publisher Smilegate, seat frame manufacturer DSC and venture capital firm Vela Partners, according to The Spoon.
Founded in 2017, Bear is developing an artificial intelligence-powered robot called Penny that will automatically bring food to customers in table-service restaurants. Penny’s onboard system contains storage capacity for three meal trays and is tailored for navigating narrow, indoor spaces.
The design is intentionally prosaic so that it blends inauspiciously into bustling restaurants, which would pay a monthly subscription for Bear’s service. Penny may also eventually be adapted for use in households, nursing homes and casinos.
Woowa Brothers, the operator of food delivery app Baedal Minjok, provided $2m in convertible note financing for Bear in early 2018 according to The Spoon, which stated that the company had previously raised a total of $3.8m in funding. Bear’s other backers include incubator FuturePlay.