Baedal Minjok operator forms new company for server robot biz

SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- Woowa Brothers Corp., the operator of food delivery app Baedal Minjok, said Wednesday it has established a new company to sell and develop server robots, as demand for automated services grows in South Korea.

The subsidiary called B-Robotics is wholly-owned by Woowa Brothers.

The move came amid growing demand for the technology in South Korea and other countries, it said.

"We plan to solidify our position in South Korea as the market leader, while aiming to go global in the long term," the company said.

The food delivery app operator had been providing server robot rental service since 2019. Some 1,200 robots were being used in around 700 establishments in the country as of the end of 2022.

With the new company, Woowa Brothers plans to upgrade the software of its server bots within the first half this year, while expanding the robots' usage into other spaces, such as billiard rooms, distribution centers and internet cafes.

Its goal is to supply some 1,300 new robots and increase the number operating robots to over 2,500 by this year, the company said.

In the long-term, Woowa Brothers plans to localize the manufacturing of key robot parts and export them to other countries, it said.

The robots leased and used by Woowa Brothers are currently made in China.

Baedal Minjok, operated by Woowa Brothers, is South Korea's No.1 delivery app in terms of monthly active users. The company has been owned by Berlin-based Delivery Hero SE, a food delivery app operator, since 2021.

fairydust@yna.co.kr
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