AI veteran set to take self-driving robots from novelty to business necessity

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Robby Technologies, a developer of self-driving delivery robots, today announced former Apple executive Saumil Nanavati has joined its management team to lead the business development and marketing efforts to help progressive businesses to move cargo, food or groceries using self-driving robots.

With expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), Nanavati has been integral to the launch of technology products to more than 100 million consumers and growing businesses around the world, including the US, India, China, Australia and the UK. Prior to Robby, Nanavati served in Marketing and Partnerships at Apple, and he has built two successful venture-backed startups. Nanavati holds a BSc in Engineering, Computer Systems and Economics from Purdue University.

Working with co-founders CEO Rui Li and CTO Dheera Venkatraman from MIT with PhDs in robotics, Nanavati will orchestrate the broader view of Robby to use AI-empowered self-driving robots to change the way goods are moved around and between people, stores and warehouses.

Robby Technologies introduced the most complete self-driving robots for last-mile delivery in 2016, with its roots from the prestigious YCombinator program. Since then, Robby's first-generation robots have traveled 4000-plus miles and served hundreds of customers across California. Initial customers of Robby have included logistics and delivery companies such as Doordash, Instacart and Postmates. Robby also recently had the privilege of delivering snack for Nvidia at the GTC 2018 conference.

"Robby is venture-backed, and is working with forward-thinking partners and investors to change the way products and goods are moved," said Nanavati. "eCommerce is growing 23% year-over-year and most businesses cannot quickly scale to fulfill the demand. We are fueling the growth of businesses with our fully autonomous robots."

Robby has been featured in Forbes, MIT Technology Review, BBC News, The Mercury News, Robotics Business Review and Government Technology.

About Robby Technologies

Robby is changing the way products and goods move between people, stores and warehouses within two miles. The self-driving robots are ushering innovative consumer touch points and logistics operational efficiency for businesses. For more information see: http://robby.io