• Makr Shakr, an Italian manufacturer of robotic bartending units, has launched its robot unit “Toni” at Singapore’s Changi Airport—its first deployment in Asia.

• The units will be opened later this year, at terminals 2 and 3 at the airport, where travelers can place orders via the Makr Shakr app and receive a complimentary drink by scanning a QR code.

• This would help the company increase its customer reach, as the airport usually hosted roughly 70 million passengers per year before the Covid-19 pandemic.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: Makr Shakr debuted Toni in 2019 and is currently operational in several other cities, including Las Vegas, Milan, Prague, and Amsterdam, as well as on nine Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Its peer startup Swiss Smyze, which currently operates in Switzerland, also plans to expand its footprint across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.</ul>