London, ON – December 29, 2020 – Avidbots, a world-leading robotics company, and Sodexo, the world leader in Quality of Life services, today announced a collaboration with London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) to deploy Neo, an autonomous floor scrubbing robot to support hospital cleaning staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the environmental services provider of LHSC, Sodexo looked for innovative ways to support staff in a time when cleaning and sanitation have become a critical priority for organizations, especially for those in the healthcare sector.

Neo, the fully autonomous floor scrubbing robot, will tackle cleaning the floors of the hospital, allowing cleaning staff to focus on high-touch items such as doorknobs, buttons and other priority areas that require human dexterity to clean. Powered by the Avidbots AI Platform, Neo is able to adapt to its environment in real-time and automatically update its route on the fly to avoid obstacles. Neo is a safe addition to complement cleaning teams across a number of industries.

Sodexo team tours the Avidbots HQ in Kitchener, ON, learning more about Neo. [left to right in photo] Steve Timms (Avidbots), Daniel Kaye (Sodexo), Bill Rodgers (Sodexo), Sean Lett (Avidbots), Carolann Hoefnagels (Sodexo), Jen Gilson (Sodexo), Bob Schmalhofer (Avidbots).

“At Sodexo our mission is to improve quality of life, and we are pleased to announce this innovation to support London Health Services Centre,” said Brian Kimmett, Senior Vice President of Healthcare at Sodexo Canada. “In an industry like healthcare, where sanitation is critical to the safety of patients, we are excited to work with Avidbots to continue to provide a safe, caring, and productive environment for hospital workers and patients.”

“As London’s largest employer, LHSC is dedicated to excellence in patient care, teaching, and research,” said Dispesh Patel, Vice President, Facilities Management. “A big part of our mandate is providing our employees and patients with a safe, clean environment to work and heal. As long-standing partners with Sodexo, we are excited to grow the role of automation in keeping our hospital safe.”

“Now, more than ever, organizations are turning to innovation to support their front-line cleaning staff in their critical work,” said Faizan Shekh, CEO and Co-founder of Avidbots. “Sodexo and the London Health Sciences Centre are leading the charge in the facilities and healthcare spaces to lean on solutions like Neo to maintain increased levels of cleanliness and sanitation as we navigate this new normal. We look forward to this partnership and working together to keep staff and patients safe.”

An innovator in autonomous floor scrubbers, Avidbots provides robotics solutions to some of the world’s biggest companies across healthcare, airports, education, retail, manufacturing, warehousing and beyond.

About Sodexo in Canada

Sodexo delivers a wide range of customized solutions, designed to optimize work and living environments. Sodexo has been providing food and facilities management services in Canada for over 40 years, with a focus on enhancing safety, work process and well-being. Sodexo is a market leader in Canada. Sodexo has been recognized as a top employer for the past seven consecutive years. Sodexo is proud to have created the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, an independent charitable organization that has raised over $3 million to fight hunger and donated more than one million meals to at-risk youth across Canada since 2007.

Key Figures

• 10,000 employees
• 1 million Canadian consumers served daily
• Platinum Parity Certification

To learn more about Sodexo’s global response to COVID-19 visit here.
To learn more about careers available at Sodexo Canada visit the career site.

About Avidbots

Avidbots is a robotics company with a vision to bring robots to everyday life to expand human potential. Their groundbreaking product, the Neo autonomous floor scrubbing robot, is deployed around the world and trusted by leading facilities and building service companies. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Kitchener, ON, Canada, Avidbots is offering comprehensive service and support to customers on 5 continents. Avidbots is backed by top global venture capital firms, including True Ventures, Next47, GGV Capital, BDC, Felicis Ventures, Real Ventures, and Golden Ventures.

For more information, visit Avidbots.com