Cartken’s shift from food delivery to factory floors is the kind of pivot that one can deem totally sensible. At first, it might seem like a bold choice because, why would you leave behind the excitement of consumer delivery? But when you look closer, it’s actually a smart decision that is based on real interest and strong demand from industrial customers. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision by the company to chase industrial customers out of nowhere. Factory teams saw what Cartken was doing in the streets and thought, “Why not use this inside our walls?” It was the same technology, but solving a completely different (and more valuable) problem. Cartken’s CEO, Christian Bersch, took the hint, and leaned into it.
Once companies like ZF Lifetec and Mitsubishi came on board, the product itself evolved fast. The Courier was built to carry 44 pounds of snacks; now the Hauler can handle 660 pounds. The Runner goes through tight corners and narrow aisles. There’s even a forklift-style model on the way. What Cartken learned from using its robots on busy sidewalks like avoiding people and handling narrow paths now helps them do really well inside noisy and crowded factory spaces.
Consumer delivery robots might get more press, but the real money is in warehouses and manufacturing. In simple words, they are a great place for using robots. If their robots can handle the busy and messy sidewalks of a city, then working inside a factory is much easier for them. With $20 million in fresh funding and a product line that’s growing more industrial by the day, Cartken is entering its next chapter. And it’s a big one. It’s a reminder to every startup founder to build flexible tools. Don’t just box yourself into one industry. You never know when your real audience will show up, and it might not be where you expected.
Cartken’s story is a great example of how pivots don’t have to mean starting over. They can be smart and strategic shifts that open bigger doors for the future. When you build solid tech and listen to your users, you just might discover a whole new path, and it could be the one that takes your business to the next level.
