Travis Kalanick’s ATOMS Raises $1.7 Billion to Bring Advanced Robotics to KitchenBASE Locations Across APAC

New capital positions the robotics and industrial automation group to expand hardware automation across KitchenBASE sites in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Australia

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 27 October 2026 – Six markets across Asia-Pacific stand to gain from a $1.7 billion investment into Atoms, the robotics and industrial automation group founded by Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) led the round, joined by Uber, Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, and other institutional investors. The result strengthens a group that includes KitchenBASE, a commercial kitchen network spanning six of the most active food markets in the region.

New Capital, New Capability

The a16z-led round also adds Ben Horowitz, co-founder of the firm, to the Atoms board. This positions the group to push harder into robotics across food, mining, and transport. Within Atoms Food, KitchenBASE sits alongside hardware projects such as automated bowl-builders and order conveyance robots built to cut labour friction inside commercial kitchens. Fresh capital gives these projects more room to develop, with knock-on gains for the KitchenBASE network across Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Australia.

A Boost for Regional Operators

For operators across Asia-Pacific, the benefits are practical. KitchenBASE facilities come licensed and ready-to-fit, and this lets food businesses move in under flexible contracts without the capital outlay of a traditional lease.

Brands that want to test a single market or push into several at once find a foothold in high-demand delivery zones across all six markets. New investment from Atoms in hardware automation and physical workflow management is expected to further sharpen efficiency and reliability, giving KitchenBASE operators a faster path to scale.

Hashtag: #ATOMS

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About Atoms

Atoms is an industrial automation and robotics company founded by Travis Kalanick. Atoms Food includes KitchenBASE alongside food-tech hardware projects. Autonomous haulage and machine systems sit under Atoms Mining. Robotic wheelbases and autonomous movement systems for heavy industry fall under Atoms Transport.

About KitchenBASE

KitchenBASE is the food infrastructure arm behind six brands trading across Asia-Pacific. Formally known as Freshlane in Hong Kong, Smart City Kitchens in Singapore, KitchenNow in Taiwan, KitchenBASE in Japan, Kitchen Valley in Korea, and Chef Collective in Australia. Each brand equips food businesses with licensed kitchen space built for speed to market, so operators can rely on a steady base to launch, test, and expand.

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HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 27 October 2026 – At 8:30 a.m. on 23 October, Youyin Communications, a mobile phone retailer in Baohua Town, Jurong, Jiangsu Province, began selling the new iPhone Duo alongside retailers in urban markets. This marked the sixth consecutive year that Jujia Yuntong, a subsidiary of Huitongda Network (9878.HK), had participated in the launch-day rollout of new products. At the same time, more than 1,000 Apple authorised stores under Huitongda's subsidiary Jujia Yuntong across China launched the iPhone Duo.

"Since joining Huitongda's Jujia Yuntong programme, we have gained access to Apple product supply. New products arrive more promptly, and we also benefit from the brand's support. For a mobile phone retailer in a township, this makes running the business much easier," said Mr Qiu, the owner of Youyin Communications. He added that, after becoming an authorised retailer, the store received dedicated display counters and demo units for local customers to experience. Jujia Yuntong also helped the store adopt online-to-offline (O2O) on-demand retail and smart retail cabinets, significantly improving operating efficiency.

"Customers nearby can find our products on the on-demand delivery pages of Meituan and JD.com. Once an order is placed online, a delivery rider collects it from our store using a pickup code, and customers can receive their new phone in as little as one hour," Mr Qiu said. He added that the new business model increased the store's overall sales volume by 20%.

Drawing on its distribution network and strengths in local operations rooted in China's county and township markets, Huitongda continues to deepen strategic cooperation with leading upstream brands. It brings popular new products and high-demand merchandise from major urban markets to county and township markets, while rapidly replicating store formats and business models. These efforts help stimulate local consumption and give local consumers access to new products at the same time as their urban counterparts.

As AI adoption accelerates, Huitongda is combining in-house development with external partnerships to expand the use of AI across retail scenarios throughout the urban and rural distribution chain. These initiatives aim to further support brands in serving county and township markets and help Huitongda's member stores improve operating efficiency.

Hashtag: #huitongda #Ai #business

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