AIBT Takes Center Stage In The $100 Billion Robotics Race
- Checkers
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
There's a scaling problem in robotics that kills most startups before they ever ship a product. Building robots is expensive, manufacturing them at volume requires industrial infrastructure that takes years and hundreds of millions to develop, and distributing them internationally means navigating regulatory frameworks and dealer networks across dozens of countries. Most robotics companies burn through their runway trying to do all three at once. Aibotics Inc (OTCID: $AIBT) skipped all of that by partnering directly with KEENON Robotics, one of the largest service robotics manufacturers on the planet, and positioning itself as the distribution layer for a market projected to reach over $130 billion by 2032.
KEENON ranks first globally in commercial service robot shipments according to IDC, operates in over 60 countries, and raised $228 million including a $200 million Series D led by SoftBank in 2021. The partnership signed last September gave AIBT distribution rights for KEENON's full product lineup, from DinerBot food delivery robots to the XMAN humanoid that KEENON showcased at CES 2026. But the partnership goes beyond just moving product: KEENON received all technical specifications for AIBT's proprietary Phill Robot and is preparing a manufacturing quote, so the same infrastructure that builds robots for 60 countries could end up building AIBT's own hardware.
The first KEENON units shipped to Israel last December and started deploying in Tel Aviv immediately. Five days ago AIBT locked down the territory with a three-year exclusive distribution agreement with Cannibble Food-Tech (CSE: $PLCN), an Israeli company that created an entirely new Robotics and AI Division specifically for this deal. Israel's combined food service and hospitality market runs $13 billion annually, and the timing landed right as the sector rebuilds after the ceasefire with international flights back from Delta, United, and Air Canada. The agreement includes automatic renewals and names North America, Latin America, and the broader Middle East as the next expansion targets.
AIBT is running the same strategy in the Caribbean through an LOI signed in October to acquire NovaCore Labs, a Jamaica-based Google Partner with government contracts spanning coast guard and military that also launched the country's first Google Street View Car. That deal extends KEENON distribution rights across Jamaica and the broader CARICOM region, a 15-member trade bloc that welcomed more than 34 million tourists and generated billions in tourism activity in 2024, with hotels and resorts that need exactly the kind of automation KEENON builds.
The market AIBT is operating in keeps expanding because labor keeps getting harder to find. Hotel employment is still 10% below pre-pandemic levels, over 90% of hospitality leaders report they can't fill positions, and the spa industry alone had a shortage of 45,000 workers as recently as 2022. Service robotics is projected to hit $131 billion by 2032 as operators who used to see robots as a novelty start treating them as a staffing solution, and hospitality robots specifically are expected to reach $126 billion by 2035.
AIBT's Phill Robot fits directly into that trend: It's an AI-powered massage system with a patented foldable arm that delivers 15 pounds of force across a 35-inch range, designed for the spa and wellness market that can't find enough massage therapists to meet demand. When the company launched a pilot at Rule Fitness in Miami last August, pre-orders hit their Indiegogo goal in 24 minutes at $2,199 with a target MSRP of $3,499. Aescape is the closest competitor in the space, having raised $83 million at a $250 million valuation to put massage robots in Equinox locations. The differences Aescape's system requires proprietary clothing while the Phill Robot works with whatever you walk in with.
Most robotics companies spend years and tens of millions trying to solve manufacturing and distribution before they ever get a product into a customer's hands. AIBT went from signing the KEENON partnership to having robots deployed in Tel Aviv in three months, and the deal they signed with Cannibble five days ago includes automatic renewals and names North America, Latin America, and the Middle East as expansion targets. In a market expected to grow by over $100 billion in the next few years, this is exactly the kind of plan that pushes a microcap innovator like AIBT to center stage.
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