Robots in aisle 2! These startups want to change the way you shop for groceries

September 18, 2018

In a North Billerica industrial park, a startup called Alert Innovation employs 75 people who are working hard to end your weekly stroll down the aisles of a grocery store. In Waltham, Takeoff Technologies, based in a former watch factory, is focused on the same goal. Takeoff just raised $24 million in additional funding this week, and in August Walmart said it would work with Alert to test the startup’s technology in a Salem, N.H., supermarket.

Both companies are betting on two dynamics.

The first is that time-crunched consumers increasingly want to have groceries delivered to their homes, or be ready for pickup when they swing by a store after work.

The second is that as Amazon continues to invest in its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service, the e-tailer’s vaunted operational efficiencies will make life very difficult for traditional grocery stores that aren’t ready to compete.

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