MBody AI takes autonomous services outdoors, expanding addressable market

MBody AI, a hardware-agnostic enterprise robotics platform that deploys and manages autonomous robot workforces for hospitality, gaming and commercial real estate operators, announced that it has expanded its addressable market from indoor to outdoor autonomous services.

The company said that it has secured exclusive U.S. distribution rights for outdoor cleaning robots in gaming and large hotels and resorts, and in six states (Nevada, Arizona, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and Connecticut), through an agreement with an autonomous cleaning robot manufacturer.

MBody AI said that the move multiplies the range of services the company can automate for the properties it already serves and opens a new outdoor automation market.

Expanding autonomous cleaning to outdoor settings

MBody AI said that it has run the offering in real-world pilot deployment with a major U.S. gaming and hospitality operator, which is expected to continue and expand its use. The company said that its first outdoor cleaning technology is designed to combine multiple robot types, from multiple brands, working together through the MBody AI Orchestrator platform to complete work a single robot type could not complete on its own.

For existing clients, the company said that the outdoor robots will also be able to share data with indoor robot types through the same platform.

“This started with a customer asking us to take our automation outside, into their parking lots and grounds,” said John Fowler, CEO of MBody AI. “Outdoor maintenance is expensive, labor-intensive work and it’s often the first and last impression a guest has of a property. Every property we serve indoors has outdoor space, so going outdoors multiplies what we can automate for the customers who already trust us. We have designed Orchestrator so that what the fleet learns outdoors will make the indoor robots smarter, and the other way around.”

While outdoor cleaning is the initial application, MBody AI said that it views the new rollout as the foundation for a broader outdoor automation roadmap, with additional maintenance functions expected to be automated over time and managed through the Orchestrator. The company said that these may include:

• Lawn and golf course mowing and maintenance
• Parking lot cleaning and line striping
• Security monitoring
• Garbage collection
• Pool and pool deck cleaning
• Exterior window cleaning

MBody AI said that nearly all of its existing clients have parking lots and outdoor space to maintain, resulting in a direct opportunity to expand deployments with existing customers while adding new customers for outdoor robotics.

A business combination between Check-Cap and MBody AI

In addition to the autonomous outdoor cleaning expansion, MBody AI and technology company Check-Cap are in the midst of a proposed business combination. On August 11, Check-Cap said that it will implement a 1-for-7 reverse share split of its ordinary shares on August 13, advancing its proposed merger with MBody AI.

The merger closed on August 26.

“This outdoor launch, the new exclusive distribution rights, and the path they open to outdoor revenue are exactly the kind of commercial progress that builds value,” said David Lontini, chairman and interim CEO of Check-Cap. “MBody AI continues to execute while we work to close, and we remain fully committed to completing the transaction, subject to the remaining customary closing conditions and required approvals.”

The combined company will continue trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “MBAI.”