Refraction AI develops the REV-1 last-mile delivery robot built on a bicycle foundation and designed to operate in bike lanes and roads rather than on sidewalks. The REV-1 can reach speeds up to 15 miles per hour and is currently being tested with a small fleet in Ann Arbor. The company uses cameras instead of LIDAR to lower costs and enable faster fleet scaling, and says the approach is resilient to Upper Midwest weather though it has limitations. Refraction was founded by University of Michigan professors Matthew Johnson-Roberson (now CTO) and Ram Vasudevan and debuted at TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility in 2019. The startup raised a $4.2M seed round to fund R&D, expand its geographic reach, and recruit grocery store and restaurant customers. With the new funding the company plans to expand operations beyond Ann Arbor, though no additional test markets have been announced. Refraction AI builds and operates the REV-1, a semi-autonomous, three-wheeled delivery robot used for restaurant deliveries and, more recently, grocery deliveries in Ann Arbor. The REV-1 is roughly the size of an electric bicycle, carries about six bags, travels 10–15 mph, and uses 12 cameras plus redundant radar and ultrasound sensors rather than lidar. The robots can navigate in rain and snow, do not depend on high-definition maps, and are being operated remotely with staff working from home. Refraction began grocery service from Produce Station after a three-month restaurant pilot and reports a 3–4x pandemic-related uptick in demand; as of May 2020 it had eight robots in operation and expected to have 20 soon. Operations have been adapted for COVID-19: robots are disinfected between deliveries, contain microbe-killing UV lights, and cleaning staff maintain physical distance. The company charges restaurants a flat $7.50 per delivery, has served over 500 customers (who may pay part of the fee if the business chooses), and tips go directly to its partners. Launched in July 2019, Refraction recently raised additional funding, bringing its total capital raised to $6.5M.

Total raised

$9M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Mar 2021