Serve Robotics said on Thursday it would acquire Vebu, the company behind the avocado processing robot Autocado.
TakeAway Points:
- Serve announced on Thursday that it would purchase Vebu, the business that created the Autocado robot, which automatically chops, peels, and scoops avocados.
- The move will allow Serve to start working within restaurants and expand its scope in the restaurant sector – which it currently only serves through its sidewalk robots that deliver food for Uber Eats.
- On Thursday, United States Cellular said that it had reached an agreement to sell AT&T a portion of the spectrum licences used to send high-speed data services and mobile phone signals for $1.02 billion.
Serve to buy Vebu
The company, Serve, known for its sidewalk delivery robots, is branching out from its mainstay focus on automated delivery solutions and into restaurant kitchens through its acquisition of the ‘Autocado’ technology seen at burrito chain Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Chipotle has been testing the robot for several quarters and recently deployed the technology in locations in California.
The move will allow Serve to start working within restaurants and expand its scope in the restaurant sector – which it currently only serves through its sidewalk robots that deliver food for Uber Eats.
San Francisco-based Serve also plans to sign on more partners as it builds on the Autocado technology.
“We will definitely be looking to partner with more customers (restaurants) in the future,” CEO Ali Kashani said in an interview, adding that the company was targeting becoming a “one-stop shop” for restaurant automation tech.
Serve revenue report
Separately, Serve also reported results for the third quarter, with revenues shrinking more than 50% from the prior three-month period due to a sharp decline in software services revenue. That sent the company’s shares down 9% in after-hours trading.
Kashani said Serve will more than double the number of restaurants it serves by the end of this year, with its new-generation delivery robot helping it scale quickly from about 300 locations currently to 750.
Serve has an agreement with Uber Eats to deploy 2,000 robots by the end of 2025. On Thursday, Serve said it was ahead of schedule with the initial manufacturing and rollout required to hit the target, reporting a 23% sequential increase in daily active robots in the third quarter.
Serve, which also completed a $32.3 million capital raise in the quarter, did not provide financial details on the Vebu deal. Post-acquisition, Serve will integrate Vebu as a new business unit.
US Cellular to sell some spectrum licenses to AT&T for $1 billion
United States Cellular said on Thursday it has agreed to sell a portion of spectrum licenses used to transmit mobile phone signals and high-speed data services to AT&T in a $1.02 billion deal.
The transaction is part of the regional wireless carrier’s strategy to monetize its spectrum assets that were not part of the previously announced sale to T-Mobile.
In May, U.S. Cellular entered into an agreement with T-Mobile to sell almost all of its wireless operations including customers, stores and 30% of its spectrum assets in a deal valued at $4.4 billion.
Last month, U.S. Cellular agreed to sell select spectrum licenses for $1 billion to Verizon. It also signed deals with two other mobile network operators, but did not disclose the details.
The latest agreement “adds a fourth mobile network operator, in addition to T-Mobile, to the list of those whose subscribers will benefit from the sale of our spectrum licenses,” U.S. Cellular CEO Laurent Therivel said on Thursday.
Including the proposed T-Mobile transaction, U.S. Cellular has reached agreements to monetize about 70% of its total spectrum holdings, excluding high-frequency mmWave spectrum, the company said in a statement.