Crown Digital, the Singapore-based full-stack hardware and software tech start-up behind ELLA the robot barista, said Wednesday it has raised S5 million ($3.66 million) in a Pre-Series A round from Temasek Holdings’s Heliconia Capital Management, Momentum Ventures (SMRT), ParticleX, Leave a Nest, Gloca Link and M4ever.

Newsflash: a robot barista named ELLA may be coming to an MRT station near you.

In August last year, Singapore startup Crown Digital announced that it has partnered with Stellar Lifestyle, the commercial arm of SMRT Corporation Limited, to deploy its robot barista ELLA at 30 MRT stations across Singapore by end 2022.

At one of Japan’s busiest train stations, a barista named Ella works alone quietly but quickly, brewing and serving coffee from a small, transparent kiosk.

The future of coffee seems to have gone global, with a fully autonomous barista making the leap from Singapore to Japan.

自动化技术在冠病疫情危机时期迅速革新，而且也积极运用在日常生活上。有丰富咖啡馆文化的日本，业者加紧投入发明，实现无人操作和无接触面的零售服务业。

Long black. Flat white. Iced latte. However you take your coffee, Ella — Singapore’s first fully autonomous coffee barista — has got you covered.

～次世代型全自動コーヒーマシンで、エキナカで本格派高品質のコーヒーを～

Crown Digital wants to bring the machine called ELLA to at least 600 locations across Japan in the next 3 years.

Bernard Lim speaks to Keith Tan CEO & Founder at Crown Coffee, one of the nominees for this year’s OCBC Emerging Enterprise Awards 2021.

After completing his studies in the United Kingdom, Keith Tan went to work across various industries such as property and wealth management.

JR East is installing Ella, a robotic arm that can make 200 cups of coffee per hour, at both stations this December

一直被视为传统行业的餐饮业，在日新月异的时代下，该如何实现迭代升级，以更新潮的方式、更智能的技术以及更标准化的操作流程，在节约成本的同时为消费者提供高质量的产品和餐饮服务？

同社が開発したロボットのバリスタ「Ella（エラ）」を活用した無人化・省人化による新たなコーヒーサービスの実装に向け、東京駅と横浜駅でテストマーケティングを実施する。

シンガポールの公共交通運営大手ＳＭＲＴのグループ会社であるステラ・ライフスタイルは、都市高速鉄道（ＭＲＴ）の駅構内にコーヒーを提供するロボットを設置する。

Commuters will be able to order their drinks ahead of time via an app and collect them upon arrival at the MRT station.

Robot baristas will be introduced at some 30 SMRT MRT Stations, where they can serve up to 200 cups of coffee per hour to commuters.

Ella robot baristas serving gourmet coffee to some 30 MRT stations across Singapore by the end of 2022.

We believe in engaging you along the journey of getting that cup of joe. The LG transparent OLED keeps you entertained while Ella, the robotic barista brews you that cup of fresh coffee.

ELLA, Singapore’s first fully autonomous robotic coffee barista, will be deployed across stations of Japan’s largest passenger train line operator in time for Tokyo Olympics 2020