Relay Robotics — a new corporation formed by the acquisition of robotics developer Savioke — has announced the completion of a US$10m (£7.9m) Series A Financing as it named a chief executive officer and chief technology officer.
Michael O’Donnell has been appointed as chairman and CEO, while Savioke co-founder, Steve Cousins, will become CTO of Relay Robotics and lead the company’s product strategy and innovation efforts.
“I’m excited to join Steve and the incredibly talented team at Relay Robotics to address this huge market opportunity for autonomous robots that help businesses serve their customers, patients, and employees,” said Michael O’Donnell.
“The market is quickly embracing these AI & autonomous technologies to address the worldwide labour shortage and meet their clients’ needs. Relay Robotics has the intellectual property, a product line of working robots making deliveries across hospitality, healthcare and offices, and a pipeline of marquee customers.”
Relay delivery robots are currently deployed at hotels in the US such as Marriott, Hilton, Westin, Mandarin Oriental, Holiday Inn, and Radisson, hospitals such as Georgetown and Dartmouth, and commercial real estate properties.
Relay’s Rapid-Install trains and activates a robot within hours of arrival at a location. Customers can name their robot and create a customised “wrap” to match a brand.
“Our ownership’s crystal ball saw, before most hotel operators, what service robot technology could add from a marketing and operations perspective,” said Bob Combie, senior vice president of technology at hotel operator Seaview Investors. “The Relay robots are integrated into our daily guest experience, and we use them at all eight of our hotels.”
The Relay product line consists of:
- Relay – Its original service robot, globally installed in hotels, hospitals, and commercial real estate.
- Relay+ – Its latest autonomous robot with flexible configurations including a larger capacity top bin, a four-drawer model, and independent elevator operations.
