Jun 15 2017
Pear Ventures has selected Boxbot, a robotic service for last mile logistics, as the winner of its 2016-17 UC Berkeley $250k Startup Challenge. Boxbot will become part of Pear's portfolio and community.
Boxbot is a robotic service that automates last mile logistics, significantly reducing delivery costs while dramatically improving the customer experience. Pear Ventures will help Boxbot accelerate growth and realize their vision.
"We are excited for this high caliber technology team and we appreciate Pear VC for its contribution to Berkeley's vibrant new venture ecosystem," said Ikhlaq Sidhu, Founder of Berkeley's Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET).
Pear launched its annual UC Berkeley $250k Startup Challenge in 2015 on the premise, as Co-founding Managing Partner Pejman Nozad shared, that "UC Berkeley is an ocean teeming with brilliant, ambitious entrepreneurs, and many of tomorrow's category defining companies will come from the other side of the bridge." "Solving really hard technical problems is part of Berkeley's DNA, and we're excited to see Berkeley students and alumni solve some of the world's hardest problems," added Co-Founding Managing Partner Mar Hershenson. As part of the Challenge, Pear will donate 10% of its equity in Boxbot back to UC Berkeley.
"The Pear Ventures Challenge helps elevate the efforts of our start-up community. We want to see more opportunities such as this that allow our students, alumni and researchers to change the world through discovery-based entrepreneurship," said Berkeley Vice Chancellor Paul Alivisatos
"Berkeley has always been a place for innovation and entrepreneurship. Over the years I have enjoyed seeing entrepreneurship become an increasingly popular path for faculty, students and staff. I am proud to be part of a new generation helping to take Berkeley entrepreneurship to the next level," said Mark Godwin, Co-Founder and CTO at Boxbot, and Berkeley alum.
Source: https://www.pear.vc/