Cartken's Strategic Shift: Focusing on Industrial Robotics after Food Delivery Success

07/20/2025 Robotics

Cartken, the robotics company you might know from seeing its cute four-wheeled delivery bots zipping around college campuses and even the streets of Tokyo, is making a significant pivot. Instead of just delivering your late-night pizza, they're now setting their sights on industrial applications. It's like they realized their robots are good at more than just bringing you snacks!

According to Cartken's CEO, Christian Bersch, this move was always a possibility. As they were building the company, the idea of using their robots in industrial settings was always there. The real push came when companies started reaching out, curious about using the robots in their factories and labs. "We found that there’s a real big need in industrial and onsite use cases," Bersch explained. It turns out, optimizing material and production flows can bring even more value to companies than delivering burritos.

Their "aha" moment came in 2023 when they landed their first major industrial client, a German manufacturing company named ZF Lifetec. Initially, ZF Lifetec used the standard Cartken Courier robots – picture an Igloo cooler on wheels that can carry about 44 pounds. Bersch recounted, "Our food delivery robot started moving production samples around, and it quickly turned into our busiest robot of all." This success made them realize the potential of targeting the industrial sector.

While Cartken was busy partnering with Uber Eats and GrubHub to expand its food delivery services, this early success with ZF pushed them to rethink their business model. And the transition wasn’t as difficult as you might think.

The robots' AI is trained on years of data from food deliveries, and they're designed to handle various terrains and weather conditions. This means they can easily navigate both indoor and outdoor environments. Plus, the experience of dodging pedestrians and obstacles in Tokyo’s busy streets has made them incredibly agile and responsive.

With over $20 million in funding, Cartken has begun expanding its robot lineup to focus on industrial needs. They've released the Cartken Hauler, a larger version of the Courier that can carry up to 660 pounds, and the Cartken Runner, designed for indoor deliveries. They're even working on something similar to a robotic forklift.

Expanding Partnerships

Cartken is also strengthening its relationship with Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, which initially helped them get the necessary certifications to operate in Tokyo. Melco Mobility Solutions, a Mitsubishi subsidiary, plans to purchase nearly 100 Cartken Hauler robots for use in Japanese industrial facilities.

"We’re definitely seeing a lot of traction across various industrial and corporate sites, from automotive companies to pharmaceutical to chemical," Bersch said. He explained that these companies often have employees manually moving materials between buildings, either by hand, on a cart, or with a small forklift – exactly the kind of task Cartken’s robots are designed to handle.

Don't worry, Cartken isn't completely abandoning the food delivery business. They'll continue to operate their existing last-mile delivery routes, but they won't be expanding that side of the business. These routes will now serve as testing grounds for new capabilities, ensuring their robots stay ahead of the curve, whatever they're delivering.