Walmart

Tortoise partnered with retail giant Walmart to pilot droid-based food deliveries for Walmart’s customers near the latter’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. The tests began in late July 2022. Customers can purchase items such as beef jerky and Kinder chocolate eggs, which will be delivered by the robot upon order.

Automation and robotics are finally creating solutions for the complexities of doorstep deliveries.

Last-mile Delivery Automation

Tortoise

Refers to autonomous vehicles that use pedestrian walkways and travel a little faster than average walking speed (generally 3-6 miles an hour). These vehicles can usually carry up to around 20 lb. and use a camera, radar, and sensors to move autonomously. 

Sodexo

Tortoise partnered with Sodexo to deploy one of its smart mobile vending machines at the Comic Con in San Diego, California in July 2022. The cart will deliver Sodexo’s carne asada burritos and 20-ounce bottles of Gatorade to the estimated 135,000 attendees.

ARAMARK Sports and Entertainment Services

To deploy Tortoise's units at a Stanley Cup Playoff game at Capital One Arena, Washington. This marks the company’s first deployment at a National Hockey League (NHL) game.

Vroom Delivery

To pilot an on-demand delivery program in Dallas, Texas. The partnership marks the company’s first deployment in Texas.

Albertsons

Albertsons, the country’s second-largest grocery store chain, is partnering with automated logistics startup Tortoise to pilot the beta launch of a robotic fleet of Safeway delivery carts in the towns of Tracy and Windsor in Northern California.

Karman Ventures (fka Moving Capital) is a venture capital firm backed by early employees of Uber and other decacorn startups.

Karman Ventures (fka Moving Capital)

Venture Capital, Real Estate Investment Firm

Broken Arrow Holding

Plug and Play is a seed and early-stage investor focused on great teams leading emerging growth companies.  Plug and Play runs 12 industry-specific accelerator programs twice a year, that acts as a platform for major corporations and high quality startups to connect and collaborate.  Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Plug and Play participates in Seed, Angel and Series A funding where they often co-invest with their strategic partners. Through years of experience and as part of their network, Plug and Play has put together a world-class network of serial entrepreneurs, strategic investors, and industry leaders who actively assist the firm with its successful and growing investment portfolio.  SEED ROUND. Plug and Play participates in seed round investing through a program called Startup Camp. Startup Camp is a 10-week program based in Silicon Valley for top-notch entrepreneurs to work intensively on building out their business model. Select startups will refine their business models and prototypes with help from a combination of structured workshops, speaker series and mentorship sessions, as well as active coaching from their investment team. At the culmination of Startup Camp, founders will have crystalized their business plans and pitched their company to the venture capital community at EXPO Demo Day.''  ANGEL ROUND Plug and Play makes angel round investments throughout the year, sourced from their monthly Plug and Play Angels (PAPA) sessions. They are partnered with local angel investors in Silicon Valley who participate in PAPA to find the most promising startups and best new technologies.  SERIES A. Series A typical Series A round is in the range of $2 million to $10 million, and is intended to provide operating capital for the company for six months to two years. This round capitalizes the company as it develops its products, performs initial marketing and branding, acquires talent, and conducts other early-stage business operations. It is in this stage that Plug and Play will co-invest with over 180 venture capital partners.  Plug and Play has helped grow market leaders such as PayPal, Danger, Google, DropBox, LendingClub, Zoosk, SoundHound, CreditSesame, Skytree, and has over 400 more early-stage startups in its portfolio.

Plug and Play

Oceans is a venture capital firm focusing on giving startups the hands-on support they need to succeed. They are a team that builds teams, a culture that shapes cultures, and a group of mentors who unlock skills and talent to build a future of technology. They help founders build the foundations that unlock the power of people. Oceans was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in New York, USA.

Oceans

City Light is a venture capital firm that invests early in impactful companies. They partner with experienced teams building category-defining solutions in the areas of education, safety and care, and the environment - where more revenue equals better lives at scale, every time. As one of the earliest and most successful impacts investing firms, City Light has a track record of identifying and scaling impact in ways that build better companies.  The firm was founded in 2004 and is based in New York, New York. Some of its key portfolio investments are 2U (Nasdaq: TWOU), ShotSpotter (Nasdaq: SSTI), Trilogy Education, and Ready Responders.

City Light Capital

TA Ventures is a global, network-driven VC firm investing in early-stage tech startups that redefine the industries of tomorrow. We typically write initial checks of $100-250K for Pre-Seed and Seed companies and actively provide follow-on investments. We pride ourselves on swift execution, hands-on support, and leveraging our extensive international network. By connecting our portfolio companies with growth-oriented co-investors, we help them scale effectively through subsequent funding rounds. Additionally, we draw on our deep industry expertise to offer portfolio companies and partner VCs access to top-tier, cost-efficient R&D talent.

TA Ventures

We are a New York City based investment firm focused on venture capital and private equity opportunities. Our team invests in technology enabled companies in the financial, consumer, healthcare, and software industries. Our portfolio companies have strong management teams characterized by integrity, intelligence, experience, energy, and passion.

Rosecliff Ventures

West Quad Ventures invest in startups that aspire to be leaders in their respective category, teams we believe in with an emphasis on what’s good for the world!

West Quad Ventures

ICLUB Global is an international network of private investors in startups. Founded by TA Ventures, the community allows you to invest together in technological and high-growth companies of Europe and North America. Today the club has over 500 members, with offices in Ukraine, the UK, Switzerland, Monaco, Poland, Kazakhstan, and Cyprus. Since 2018 we have taken part in more than 60 deals. The amount invested exceeded $30 million, while the income from the exits approached a tangible $10 million. Participation in the club makes it possible for newcomers to enter the world of venture business and invest in startups in an accessible and understandable manner. Investors are offered only deals that TA Ventures has personally financed, significantly reducing the risk of building their portfolio.

ICLUB VC

SWS provides the strategic, operational, and financial support needed to help incubate their business from a pre-revenue concept into a growing, profitable enterprise. As a passive investor, they focus on partnering with leading, established venture capital firms to provide fast-track funding for co-investments. This is where their domain expertise and deep network provide a strategic advantage.

SWS Venture Capital

Stormbreaker is an early stage fund focused on capital-efficient startups. We believe in a future where venture capital is more equitable, more efficient, and more genuine. We see an opportunity within venture capital to be a true partner to our founders, not just a check that bides time until the next round. Stormbreaker is industry-agnostic and focused on startups that don’t see capital as an immediate requirement for growth, but instead as the best path forward for their business at the right time. We partner with the high-velocity, high-conviction companies that stand out from their peers because they are driven to build efficiently––companies that prioritize disciplined decision making and market traction over chasing stepped up valuations.  When we make investments, we are committed to our companies for their lifespan. We become trusted and preferred partners to our entrepreneurs, which allows us to take a hands-on approach to growth.

Stormbreaker Ventures

Tortoise is an automated delivery platform for the retail and logistics industries. It was founded by David Graham and Dmitry Shevelenko.  Companies like Lyft, Microsoft, and Samsung have brought David in when developing novel technologies and concepts. Meanwhile, Dmitry oversaw the new modality partnership strategy at Uber and led Uber’s first deals with JUMP, Getaround, and the public transit ticketing system Masabi. Together, the two have identified some of the biggest pain points in logistics and shared micromobility and are setting out to tackle them together.

Tortoise is a logistics automation company that has evolved its business model since its founding in 2019. Initially focused on robotic scooter rebalancing and last-mile sidewalk delivery, Tortoise pivoted in 2022 to offer mobile smart stores. These electric vehicles function as roving vending machines, carrying up to 150 pounds of goods at speeds of 3-7 mph. The smart stores feature NFC credit card readers integrated into container lids, allowing customers to tap to pay and access items without needing an app or website. Remote operators monitor transactions and can control the robots' movements when necessary. Tortoise's technology aims to provide retailers with a low-cost way to expand their reach and increase sales without additional labor. The company uses a revenue-sharing model, taking 10% of gross sales from its retail partners rather than charging upfront fees. In early trials, Tortoise reported that its mobile smart stores were generating USD 80-USD 100 per hour in sales.
Key customers and partnerships
Tortoise has partnered with various food service and retail businesses to deploy its mobile smart stores. In 2022, the company announced partnerships with 18 food and convenience retail customers, including virtual kitchen companies Reef and Nextbite, as well as the UK-based ultra-fast grocer Jiffy. Tortoise planned to launch its smart stores in multiple cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, San Diego, and London. Additionally, Tortoise formed a partnership with Fresh Ideas Food Service Management in 2021 to bring robotic delivery to dining service operations across the US. The company has also worked with grocery chain ShopRite and hybrid grocer/convenience store Choice Market in Denver to pilot its delivery robots.

Tortoise

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