Seoul takeaway app experiments with cooler-sized delivery robot

Soon in Seoul’s near future, citizens will be able to order jajangmyeon Chinese-Korean noodles, buy cold medicine and shop for magazines at home – and have them delivered by a robot in half an hour.

Kim Bong-jin, founder of South Korea’s biggest food-delivery app, is betting that autonomous gadgets the size of a small cooler will help his Baedal Minjok delivery service keep a grip on a market swarming with new entrants. The goal is to cut costs, reduce delivery-related accidents and cope with a labour shortage in one of the world’s fastest-ageing nations.

This isn’t just an experiment for Kim, 42. His Dilly robots will start deliveries within three years. Woowa Brothers Corp., the company behind Baedal Minjok, raised $320 million from Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital and GIC in December to help develop a prototype that is set to roll out later this year. The goal is to tap into a global service robotics market projected to almost triple to $29.8 billion by 2023, according to MarketsandMarkets Research Private Ltd.

“We’ve proven that we can make money, so we would rather seize on the moment for more aggressive investment,” Kim said. “We have to change and experiment all the time.”

Valued at 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion), Kim’s start-up currently handles about 28 million orders a month. Getting deliveries to people in the nation of 51 million is no easy task. First, Kim’s Dillys have to be able to navigate in urban landscapes dominated by tall residential buildings. He is found a solution by partnering with a local manufacturer that would let lifts talk with the delivery robots.

The goal is to win over potential customers like Lee Dong-woo, who orders food at home at least once a week, getting everything from fried chicken and rice noodles to raw beef delivered to the door.