Coco, a Los Angeles-based robot delivery service, is now up and running down south in Austin, Texas.
“When evaluating markets for expansion, Austin stood out to the team as a perfect match,” said Zach Rash, co-founder and CEO of Coco. “Austin's entrepreneurial spirit, top-notch food scene, and commitment to supporting small businesses makes it an ideal fit for Coco.”
While Austin may be the company's first venture out of California, in the coming months, it plans to head out to Dallas, Houston, and Miami.
Coco reaches out in Los Angeles
Founded in 2019, Cyan Robotics Inc., which does business as Coco, has partnered with more than 50 merchants across the region. It said it is “operating across all major LA neighborhoods.” It claims to boast a 97% on-time delivery rate. Its robots are remotely piloted and are not autonomous.
Last year, the company unveiled its latest delivery robot, the COCO 1, which it developed with micromobility provider Segway Inc. The new model has a larger battery and a delivery radius of up to three miles, which is double the range of the original. It also has several new cameras and sensors, which the company claims makes it easier to teleoperate.
Austin partners line up for orders
Teaming up with 10 restaurant owners in the area, Coco has expanded after a recent Series A funding of $56 million. Partners include Arpeggio Grill, Bamboo Bistro, Clay Pit, DeSano Pizzeria, Tuk Tuk Thai, and Aviator Pizza.
“We're excited that Coco is launching their first-ever expansion outside of California and bringing their innovative technology to Austin,” said Roland Peña, senior vice president of global tech and innovation for the Austin Chamber of Commerce. “Coco was founded on the same entrepreneurial spirit that Austin has been embracing for decades.”
The company’s local partners said they are looking forward to getting started.
“We're excited about the new partnership with Coco this month. The Coco team has been on the ground getting everything ready to kick it off. Their people have been just fantastic,” said Jimmy FitzGerald, owner of DeSano Pizzeria Napoletana. “Our DeSano teams here in Austin are very excited about this new ground-breaking delivery platform at both locations. It's helping us look at delivery in a whole new way!”
“We believe this innovation will provide a faster and more reliable delivery service to our customers,” said Nam Noieam of Tuk Tuk Thai Cafe.
Delivery robot adoption continues
In recent months, the delivery robot space has been busy. In January, the European Investment Bank agreed to a €50 million ($55.7 million U.S.) quasi-equity facility agreement with Starship Technologies. The San Francisco robotics company said it would use the money for research and development. The company claims its robots have been operating at Level 4 autonomy since 2018, completing more than 2.5 million commercial deliveries.
Also last month, Starship rolled out its robotic food delivery service at Southern Methodist University.
Other California robotics companies such as Serve Robotics and Nuro also announced innovations in the delivery robot space last month. Serve Robotics launched its line of Level 4 autonomous robots for sidewalk deliveries, and Nuro unveiled the third-generation of its electric delivery vehicle.
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