Kiwibot acquires an ad startup to turn its delivery robots into mobile billboards

From the standpoint of any advertising executive, Kiwibot has left a lot of money on the table since its robots began making food deliveries on the UC Berkeley campus back in 2017. After all, the semi-autonomous wheeled systems tend to traverse high-traffic areas. In 2024, they can still draw a crowd of curious onlookers. However you ultimately feel about advertising, you can’t deny that there’s ample opportunity in the form of a mobile billboard.

Kiwibot is so convinced of this fact that it plunked down $25 million to purchase Nickelytics. Founded in 2019, the Tampa-based firm specializes in car-wrap advertising. It has since branched out into truck advertising, as well as digital ads through displays like the tablets found in the backseat of ridesharing cars.

In March, the company partnered with Kiwi competitor Starship to bring wrapper ads to robots designated for the University of Utah and UCLA. That pilot program launched with the “Love, Your Mind” campaign from Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council.

Clearly Kiwi liked what it saw. The robotics firm is particularly interested in Nickelytics’ data analytics. That, combined with Kiwibot’s route mapping, offers advertisers an opportunity to spread the word in high-traffic spots spread out across more than 20 states.

As part of the deal, Nickelytics CEO Judah Longgrear will join Kiwibot as a co-founder. The ad firm currently has a number of high-profile customers, including  AWS, Coinbase, Nationwide, and DirectTV. Those clients, in turn, will have access to more than 500 mobile Kiwibots.

“This acquisition is all about strategically positioning ourselves as a market leader and elevating our offering with Nickelytics' added approach," Kiwibots CEO Felipe Chavez said of the deal. "By integrating our technologies and scaling our operations, we’re laying the groundwork for global expansion and continued innovation that will bring a new edge to advertising.”

Nickelytics, a 2020 Techstars grad, recently made an acquisition of its own, purchasing Miami print shop Signs Printing Solutions.