Last mile delivery startup Refraction AI raise $4.2m

US-based robot delivery company Refraction AI has raised $4.2 million in new seed funding.

The round was led by Pillar VC, with other participants including eLab Ventures, Osage Venture Partners, Trucks Venture Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, Chad Laurans (founder of SimpliSafe), Invest Michigan.

The startup has to date raised over $10 million in total.

Refraction AI will use the cash for customer acquisition, geographic expansion, and product development.

Launched in July 2019, it was co-founded by Matt Johnson-Roberson and Ram Vasudevan, both professors at the University of Michigan.

Its REV-1 robot is approximately the size of an electric bicycle and is legally categorised as an ebike. This weighs approximately 100 pounds and stands roughly four feet tall, including its three wheels.

It travels an average 10 to 15 miles per hour with a very short stopping distance, and a compartment holds about six bags of groceries.

“Last mile delivery is the quintessential example of a sector that is ripe for innovation, owing to a powerful confluence of advancing technology, demographics, social values and consumer models,” says Refraction CEO Luke Schneider.

“Conventional approaches have left businesses and consumers with few choices in this new environment as they struggle to keep pace with surging demand — burdened by the costs, regulatory, and logistical challenges of a legacy infrastructure.”

He adds: “Our platform uses technology that exists today in an innovative way, to get people the things they need, when they need them, where they live.”

“And we’re doing so in a way that reduces business’ costs, makes roads less congested, and eliminates carbon emissions.”