LG Electronics could not be a family title in smartphones, nevertheless it nonetheless sees a giant future in devices like robots. Right now, the corporate confirmed a $60 million funding in Bear Robotics, the California startup that makes synthetic intelligence-powered server robots for eating places and different venues — autonomous tray towers on wheels that should exchange waiters. With the funding, LG Electronics turns into Bear’s largest shareholder. 

Bear’s final fundraise in 2022 valued the corporate at simply over $490 million post-money, per PitchBook information. It’s not clear what the valuation is for this newest funding, however the final yr has not been an amazing one for startups within the area.

Alternatively, the present vogue for all issues AI, and the final advances which can be coming with that, are giving robotics gamers a fillip — see yesterday’s Covariant information, for one more instance. Nonetheless, it’s not clear what Bear hopes to sort out subsequent with the essential trays-on-wheels type issue that it has adopted for its flagship Servi robots.

We’ve contacted Bear and LG for additional remark.

The Bear funding comes almost two months after LG CEO William Cho hinted at LG’s curiosity in fairness investments in robotics specializing in supply and logistics at CES 2024 in January: the corporate is placing cash the place its mouth is.

After LG shut down its struggling cellular enterprise globally in April 2021, the Korean electronics and equipment big shifted its enterprise focus to different development areas, together with sensible properties, linked gadgets, the Web of Issues (IoT), electrical car (EV) elements, and robotics and synthetic intelligence platforms. 

“Because the service robotic market enters a interval of development, this fairness funding will considerably contribute to securing a ‘Profitable aggressive edge’ for the corporate,” Lee Sam-soo, chief technique officer at LG Electronics, stated in an announcement. “From a mid-to long-term perspective, we are going to search to develop our robotic enterprise into a brand new development engine, exploring numerous alternatives by way of the mixing of cutting-edge applied sciences corresponding to Embodied AI and robotic manipulation.”

This funding is just not LG’s first robotic enterprise. The Korean electronics firm has been researching and creating software program and {hardware} in robotics for years. In 2017, LG deployed information robots at South Korea’s largest airport, Incheon Worldwide Airport, per its assertion. 

Bear was based in 2017 by John Ha, a former Google software program engineer-turned-restaurateur, who witnessed how difficult issues might get. Ha’s first-hand expertise with the challenges of operating a restaurant impressed him to develop serving robots. 

The SoftBank backed startup operates its indoor supply robots within the U.S., South Korea and Japan. These serving robots, designed to assist ship meals to restaurant clients, have been efficiently deployed in numerous settings.  

“Simply as Android revolutionized the smartphone period, standardized open platforms are important for the activation of the robotic market,”  Ha stated. 

Simply final month, LG’s CEO had a gathering with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg to debate a possible collaboration for creating prolonged actuality (XR) gadgets. In late November, LG arrange an prolonged actuality (XR) crew as a part of an organizational reshuffle to expedite the event of an XR gadget, aiming for 2025.