Mission Critical Software for the Hospitality Industry
The Bbot co-founders met as Navy officers and nuclear engineers, working on instrumentation and control systems for submarines and aircraft carriers. After leaving the Navy, they reunited to develop Bbot, initially a robotic drink delivery system for restaurants, which later evolved into a robust, configurable software solution that helps restaurants, bars, hotels, cinemas and other hospitality organizations create digital menus and provide contactless ordering and payment.
Rally Ventures led Bbot’s seed round in 2021 and also participated in their Series A later that same year. Bbot benefited from early, active support from the Rally team and Rally Technology Partners, who facilitated customer introductions in the hospitality industry, assisted with executive recruitment and guided payments strategy and corporate development.
Recognizing a larger gap in the market, Bbot released its own API to give businesses the ability to build on the Bbot infrastructure. The company realized that many food tech firms wanted to focus on building innovative consumer-facing technology, not on the development of the underlying infrastructure for managing orders and payments.
By creating this foundational platform—similar to what Stripe and Twilio did for their respective industries—Bbot enabled other food tech companies to build on top of its robust infrastructure, unlocking even more growth and innovation across the market.
The co-founders credit their Navy background in mission-critical systems for shaping their approach to building Bbot’s software. While small businesses may not operate nuclear reactors, their ordering systems are no less mission-critical to their success. Downtime or inefficiency in these systems could mean significant losses in revenue and customer satisfaction.
By treating Bbot’s platform as mission-critical infrastructure, the team ensured that their software was reliable, scalable and adaptable to the unique needs of their customers. This philosophy positioned Bbot as a critical player in the food tech market, empowering small businesses to compete with larger, more resource-rich companies.
Bbot’s innovative approach and robust growth caught the attention of DoorDash, one of the largest players in the food delivery space. In March 2022, Bbot entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by DoorDash. This acquisition expanded DoorDash’s product suite with powerful enterprise tools that directly serve their restaurant partners.
We’re now excited to support the Bbot co-founders in their next mission-critical venture: Allen Control Systems (ACS). ACS is a defense technology company that creates autonomous systems to safeguard our military and partners. ACS is ushering in a new era of battlefield security, equipping U.S. and allied forces with the next generation of counter-drone technology. Rally led the pre-seed funding in 2023.