Pudu Robotics ended 2022 with robots deployed in over 600 cities around the world in over 60 countries and regions. Pudu secured shipments of over 53,000 devices in 2022.
The company hopes that in 2023 it can continue to expand its use case and services. In July 2022, Pudu introduced the PuduBot 2, an upgrade to the flagship product it released in 2017. While the new autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are designed for the same operations as the previous version, its new features make it more adaptable for different use cases.
Pudu’s other robots include the BellaBot, a premium delivery robot with a cat-like face, and KettyBot, a delivery and reception robot.
To get its robots into more industries, Pudu has partnered with many well-known brands, including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Carrefour, Merriott, Hilton, Shell plc, MediaMarkt and Accenture. Pudu’s robots are at work in catering businesses, hotels, shopping malls, convenience stores and office buildings.
In Poland, Shell is using the BellaBot and KettyBot to greet customers, inform them of promotional campaigns and assist with order delivery in its automated service station. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, the company’s robots are at work in Media Market, a European electronics retailer. It has robots in McDonald’s in Slovenia, Nevins Newfield Inn in Ireland and in a photography and videography studio in Italy.
In fact, in August, the company announced that its service robots are being used in over 50 businesses and brands across Europe. Pudu hopes to continue this strategy of getting its robots into as many industries as possible in 2023.
While Pudu aims to put its robots in many industries, it isn’t turning its back on the service industry, in which many of its robots were designed to operate in. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the global service robot market is expected to reach a size of around $20.2 billion in 2023.
As contactless services become more and more prevalent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pudu has seen an increasing demand for its robots.
The company did face some challenges in 2022. In July, there were reports of major layoffs at Pudu. Reports from Chinese media outlets about the number of layoffs varied, with some outlets reporting layoffs of up to 1,500 employees since the start of 2022. According to Tao Zhang, the founder and CEO of the company, Pudu needed to cut some operations of the company to survive the economic headwinds it was facing.
