Rolo Robotics raises $3.45M in oversubscribed seed round
Rolo Robotics, the robotics startup behind APAC’s first fully autonomous hot food kiosks, has announced the close of an oversubscribed funding round backed by A2D Ventures, BEENEXT, Seedstars, TIS Japan, Antler, Lotus One Investment, and Blueprint Ventures.
This investment will power Rolo’s mission to revolutionise food retail through automation, offering hot, on-demand meals with zero staff, minimal overhead, and full remote operability.
Precision robotics for the future of food
Rolo Robotics has developed a full-stack food robotics system designed to operate independently in real-world environments. Its autonomous kiosks prepare hot, made-to-order meals – customisable by sauce, seasoning, and crispiness – without requiring any on-site staff.
At the core is a highly complex orchestration of robotics: multi-nozzle dispensers, real-time heat control, crispiness sensors, and a four-stage air filtration system, all managed via remote software. This level of precision and hygiene enables Rolo to deliver consistent quality, safety, and uptime at scale.
These kiosks are already solving key operational bottlenecks in high-footfall areas like campuses, offices, and transit hubs, offering a rent-light, labour-free alternative where traditional F&B formats struggle to operate efficiently.
Unlocking new channels for food service operators
As global fast-food and quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains increasingly invest in automation, Rolo’s technology presents a compelling opportunity to extend their footprint. Studies show that self-order kiosks can lift average ticket size by 8-15% while significantly reducing labour costs, making automated formats a key growth area for the industry.
Rolo’s modular platform can be white-labelled and deployed in locations that typically can’t support full-service outlets, enabling restaurant brands to expand into office lobbies, university campuses, and remote areas with ease. Its infrastructure-grade design positions Rolo as a long-term technology partner for QSRs exploring robotics as a core pillar of their multi-channel strategy.
Strong early traction & global expansion
Since launching, Rolo has secured pilots with food operators, universities, hospitals, and transport hubs, followed by pilot sites in Australia (Q1 2026). The company targets 20-30 autonomous micro-kitchens in Singapore by 2026, creating a distributed, connected network of always-on robotic micro-kitchens. Kiosks are fully integrated with food delivery apps, enabling seamless access to hot meals with zero operational friction.
The new capital will be used to scale production, deepen the tech stack, and expand the engineering and operations team to accelerate deployments across other APAC markets.
Investor confidence in F&B robotics
Rolo Robotics has attracted a diverse group of investors who recognise the market potential of autonomous food retail and the difficulty of executing on it:
- BEENEXT
 - A2D Ventures
 - Seedstar
 - TIS Japan
 - Blueprint Ventures
 - Antler
 - Lotus One Investment
 
Ankit Upadhyay, General Partner at A2D Ventures, commented: “We backed Rolo because food robotics is one of the hardest sectors to crack – there’s hardware reliability, food safety, operational complexity, and customer experience all rolled into one. Rolo has solved the hard engineering problems most only a prototype. They're not just building kiosks – they’re building food infrastructure.”
Co-Founder & CEO Ravi Nahappan adds: “At Rolo, we believe the future of food service is human-robot collaboration – food that’s affordable, customisable, and always fresh. Our kiosk – MAYA 3.0 brings industrial-grade precision into everyday kitchens. This funding allows us to accelerate deployments in Singapore and Australia while strengthening the connective tissue between robotics, AI, and future humanoid collaboration.”
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