Jollibee Leads Botrista’s New Funding Round as Beverage Robotics Startup Reaches Reported $280 Million Valuation

This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on July 23, 2024.

Botrista, a beverage robotics company, recently announced a $65 million Series C financing round, bringing its total capital raised to $120 million, or about RMB 870 million.

In March 2024, Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) acquired a 10% stake in Botrista for $28 million, implying a valuation of $280 million, or about RMB 2 billion.

Funding Background

Botrista raised $10 million in Series A funding in 2021. That round was led by Purestone Capital and La Kaffa, with participation from Sony Innovation Fund and PIDC.

In October 2022, Botrista raised $45 million. The latest round was led by investors including Jollibee Foods Corporation.

JFC recently acquired a 70% stake in South Korean coffee chain Compose Coffee. It is one of Asia’s largest foodservice companies, operating 18 brands including Jollibee, Tim Ho Wan, and Yoshinoya across 33 countries.

Beverage Automation for Restaurants

Botrista was founded in Silicon Valley in 2017 by Sean Hsu. Inspired by his work experience at Tesla, the company focuses on automated beverage-making solutions for restaurants, aiming to help operators expand beyond limited soft-drink menus.

The company combines software, hardware, firmware, and ingredients to produce smoothies, milkshakes, teas, cold coffee, shaken beverages, cocktails, and other drinks. It currently has more than 2,000 recipes across 15 beverage categories.

One of the key operational challenges is ensuring ingredient sourcing and preservation, which FoodBud described as one of Botrista’s competitive differentiators.

Operator Impact

Botrista currently serves partners across 37 U.S. states. Its automated system can prepare beverages for restaurants in 20 seconds, reportedly saving around five times in labor cost and increasing net profit by an average of 30%.

JFC chairman Dr. Tony Tan Caktiong said the group was pleased to participate in Botrista’s growth, describing the company as an innovator in the beverage sector and saying its products could help foodservice operators provide a world-class customer experience while supporting profitable growth.

Botrista co-founder and CEO Sean Hsu said JFC’s investment would accelerate product innovation and market expansion. The new capital was expected to support AI development, using historical data to help brands build beverage menus better aligned with consumer demand, while also expanding drink categories and ingredient sourcing.

Note: Funding, valuation, IPO-related, and forward-looking figures in this article are historical as of the original publication date, July 23, 2024.