Robotic beverage machine developer Botrista raises $10 million

Botrista Technology Inc., maker of the Botrista DrinkBot, today announced it has raised $10 million in a series A funding led by Purestone Capital and La Kaffa International, with participation from Sony Innovation Fund, Middleby Corp. and PIDC.

The funding brings Botrista's total amount of capital raised to $16 million. The new funding will be used to further ramp up deployment operations to roll out the DrinkBot nationally.

Botrista said it provides beverage solutions to deliver a variety of craft beverages, including infused teas and lattes, flavored lemonades, iced coffees and more – without a full bar. The DrinkBot is described as an automated craft drink solution that enables anyone to make a complex beverage.

Ordered from a touch screen, the DrinkBot's blender dispenses and mixes drinks in less than 20 seconds with a process that simulates a hand-shaken product, resulting in consistent, quality beverage texture every time.

"In 2020, fountain drink sales were down considerably as consumers rapidly switched their drink preferences and were less likely to order fountain drinks during take-out or delivery," said Borista cofounder and chief executive Sean Hsu,

"While craft beverages are trending, Hsu added, "it has become increasingly challenging for foodservice companies to meet demand due to labor shortages and lower staff retention. With nationwide expansion plans, these companies will have the opportunity to drive new revenue with the DrinkBot."

DrinkBot includes a cloud-based application called CloudBar with real-time data integration for multiple applications and tracking.