Cartken’s Bold Pivot: From Last‑Mile Delivery to Industrial Robotics

Cartken Rocks the Industrial World

Once a campus‑delivery hero, the six‑wheeled robot company Cartken has hitched a new ride into factories, labs, and everything in between. The startup’s move came about not by accident but from a long‑held itch: “industrial use cases were always in the back of our minds” – quoted co‑founder, CEO Christian Bersch.

From Food to Factory

• ZF Lifetec’s First Big Break – German manufacturer ZF Lifetec became the first major industrial customer in 2023.
• The robot, dubbed the Cartken Courier, can juggle up to 44 pounds and looks like a wheeled Igloo cooler.
• What started as a food‑delivery bot turned into the company’s busiest machine, tirelessly circling production samples.
• Bersch says, “When we saw the Courier dancing around the factory floor, we knew there was a real market need out there.”

Smart Robots, Smart Moves

Cartken’s tech story isn’t just about a cute robot shape. The AI inside is trained on years of delivery data, making it adept at nailing tricky terrains and weather. Switching from campus corridors to factory aisles? “It wasn’t a hard nut to crack,” Bersch says. The robots can now help companies cut down on material‑flow headaches and streamline production.

Balancing Act

While the industrial pivot was gaining traction, Cartken wasn’t throwing away its college‑campus deliveries. The team secured deals with Uber Eats and GrubHub, guaranteeing bright futures on U.S. campuses and in Japan.

Team Forces

Behind the scenes are founders Jake Stelman, Jonas Witt, and Anjali Naik, who have turned the robot gang into a versatile squad.

All in all, Cartken is proving that a robot capable of delivering pizza can also carry the weight of an entire production line – all while staying as cool to the eye as a wheeled cooler. The future looks… automated and a bit more breezy.

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Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise.

Robots Get Their Feet (or Wheels) Wet: Undercappets Ready for Open‑Air Deliveries

From the cozy corners of a café to the bustling streets of Tokyo,
our robot pals have learned how to keep their balance on uneven pavement,
and after a quick data boost, they’re now prepared to tackle any obstacle
that doesn’t fit their sleek design. Imagine a tiny, mechanical delivery
person who’s got the GPS of a phone and the patience of a saint.

What’s Got Them Rolling?

• Indoor‑to‑Outdoor Transition: They’ve broken the “inside‑only” rule and can glide from a dim office to a sun‑soaked sidewalk without tripping over a piano—back up a minute, that’s more like “laptop.”
• Data‑Driven Decisions: By crunching logs from Tokyo’s food‑delivery traffic, these robots now know how to dodge a stray cat, a busker, or an impromptu street festival.
• Obstacle Mastery: Thanks to iterative learning, they spot a pothole at 2 p.m. and shift trajectory, avoiding a spectacular mid‑air collision.

Why a Robot Who Can Walk Outside Matters

It isn’t just about tech bragging rights. A robot that can handle both indoor and outdoor conditions means your pizza could arrive in the rain, after a sudden thunderstorm, or right next to a street performer playing a kazoo.

Future Prospects

Now that they’re comfortable on uneven ground, these machines could be delivering groceries in a park or even shuttling commuters across campus. In short, the boundary between the controlled lab and the chaotic world is shrinking.

So, next time you order a sandwich, keep an eye out for a little wheeled friend pulling the meal through traffic with a knowing grin (or a mechanical shrug). Let’s give a warm welcome to the next generation of delivery heroes—floated out from a lab to the streets, ready to impress and a little bit oddly charming.

Cartken’s Robot Rampage: From Food Trucks to Factory Freeways

Picture this: a fleet of robots marching across Tokyo’s streets, hauling everything from comfort food to industrial freight. That’s the story of Cartken, the startup that just blew more than $20 M out of a moat of investors like 468 Capital, Incubate Fund, and Vela Partners.

Scaling Up, One Box at a Time

• Earlier this year, Cartken launched the Hauler—think of it as the Courier’s heftier cousin that can crush up to 660 lbs of cargo.
• Next came the Runner, perfect for sneaking through tight indoor spaces where a human might struggle.
• And the plans for a robotic forklift are already simmering on the horizon.

Bersch, the chief engineer, highlighted that their robots share a plug‑n‑play navigation stack. “Once it’s tuned for one robot, the AI, machine‑learning magic, and training transfer straight to the others,” he says. It’s like having an all‑purpose toolkit that shrinks and expands as needed.

Partnering with the Big‑Name Automaker

Cartken is deepening its four‑year friendship with Japan’s Mitsubishi. Thanks to Mitsubishi’s expertise, Cartken got the green light to ply the streets of Tokyo with its delivery gear.

Big Orders Coming Down the Line

• Mitsubishi’s sub‑firm, Melco Mobility Solutions, is ordering almost 100 Haulers.
• These robots will roll into factories, plants, and warehouses—covering everything from auto parts to pharma and chemicals.
• “We’re seeing solid traction across all sorts of industrial and corporate sites,” Bersch admits. “People move stuff hand‑to‑hand, on carts or tiny forklifts—what we’re sitting on the other side of.”

Last‑Mile Still in Play

Cartken won’t ditch its food delivery roots. They’ll keep running those small‑scale robots on cities’ sidewalks, running a continuous test‑and‑learn cycle for new tricks. However, no plans for massive expansion on that front yet.

Quick Fix

Some spreadsheets needed a tweak: their food‑delivery robots actually have six wheels, not four.

So, whether you’re into fresh pizza or hefty steel, Cartken’s robots are poised to make every journey a smooth ride—one automated wheel at a time.