Tortoise
Tortoise is a private, Mountain View-based automated delivery platform founded in 2019, serving retail and logistics operators with a venture-backed team of 11-50 employees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersMountain View, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Tortoise does
Tortoise is a private, venture-backed automated delivery platform serving the retail and logistics industries. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, the company operates with a headcount of 11-50 employees and remains privately held with no public listing. The firmographic positions the company as building automation software or hardware for last-mile delivery operations targeting retailers, grocers, and logistics operators.
The company has raised approximately $11.1 million across multiple funding rounds between September 2019 and April 2021, with investors including City Light Capital, Food Retail Ventures, Plug and Play, Rosecliff Ventures, Stormbreaker Ventures, SWS Venture Capital, Broken Arrow Holding, Karman Ventures, Oceans, ICLUB VC, TA Ventures, and West Quad Ventures. Leadership is anchored by co-founder and CEO David Graham, with Brett Wright serving as Chief Revenue Officer to lead commercial scaling. The capital base and CRO appointment indicate a deliberate go-to-market build toward enterprise retail and logistics accounts.
No products, patents, partnerships, or detailed revenue mechanics are disclosed in the source material beyond the firm's vertical focus and capital structure. The absence of disclosed customer logos, ARR, or technical architecture represents a material intelligence gap that limits deeper product or commercial assessment.
Tortoise firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tortoise
- Legal name
- Tortoise Starts
- Website
- https://tortoise.dev
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Tortoise is a private, Mountain View-based automated delivery platform founded in 2019, serving retail and logistics operators with a venture-backed team of 11-50 employees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tortoise industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Autonomous Delivery Robotics
- NAICS
- Support Activities for Transportation (488)
- SIC
- Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Geofencing, Security & Theft Recovery (TLABAJAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Tool, Equipment & MRO Asset Tracking (Field/Depot/Plant) (TLAEAMAF)
Keywords
Where Tortoise is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mountain View
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Tortoise business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Affiliate/Referral Revenue: The platform generates revenue through affiliate commissions when visitors click through to recommended LLC formation service providers such as ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Incfile, Northwest Registered Agent, and Rocket Lawyer. The site reviews and compares these services, earning referral fees from successful sign-ups.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Tortoise product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tortoise is an automated delivery platform serving the retail and logistics industries. The company provides autonomous, slow-speed robotic delivery solutions designed to automate last-mile delivery operations for retailers, grocery operators, and logistics providers. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, Tortoise enables businesses to deploy unmanned sidewalk-class delivery vehicles for short-distance, urban delivery use cases.
Product overview
Tortoise Starts is an educational content website that provides informational guides and articles about LLC formation processes across various US states. The site offers state-specific how-to guides (e.g., How to Start an LLC in Iowa, How to Start an LLC in Idaho) and reviews of third-party LLC formation services (ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Incfile, Northwest Registered Agent, Rocket Lawyer, Harbor Compliance, Swyft Filings, MyCompanyWorks). The company does not offer its own software product or SaaS platform but rather publishes editorial content for informational purposes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Automated Delivery Platform Autonomous, slow-speed robotic delivery platform for retailers, grocery operators, and logistics providers to automate last-mile, short-distance urban delivery.
Companies that use Tortoise
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Tortoise technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Tortoise partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Tortoise competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cartken: Cartken develops autonomous last-mile delivery robots used by partners including Uber Eats and Mitsubishi. Same product category and customer segments as Tortoise.
- Kiwibot: Kiwibot operates semi-autonomous sidewalk delivery robots primarily on U.S. university campuses and in select cities. Comparable to Tortoise in product (sidewalk delivery robot) and customer base (food delivery and retail).
- Serve Robotics: Serve Robotics develops autonomous sidewalk delivery robots and has commercial deployments with Uber Eats and 7-Eleven. It directly competes with Tortoise on the same product category (sidewalk delivery robots) and the same enterprise customers (last-mile delivery operators and retailers).
- Nuro: Nuro builds larger autonomous road-going delivery vehicles deployed with retailers such as Kroger, Walmart, and Domino's. Directly comparable to Tortoise in mission (autonomous delivery for retail/logistics) though operating at a different vehicle scale.
- Starship Technologies: Starship Technologies operates a fleet of autonomous sidewalk delivery robots for groceries and meals across multiple U.S. and European cities. It is the closest direct competitor to Tortoise in terms of product format (sidewalk-class delivery robot) and target customer (retail and foodservice).
- Coco Robotics: Coco Robotics runs a fleet of remote-piloted sidewalk delivery robots in Los Angeles for restaurant and grocery delivery. Same product category as Tortoise and overlapping enterprise customers.
Broad incumbents
- DoorDash: DoorDash is the dominant U.S. last-mile delivery platform and a potential Tortoise customer (or competitor) as it experiments with autonomous delivery through partners like Wing and Coco. Comparable as a shared-end-customer touchpoint for autonomous-delivery economics.
- Uber Eats: Uber Eats is a major last-mile delivery platform and a customer/integrator for Serve Robotics and Cartken. Comparable to Tortoise in that it dictates the economics of retailer adoption of autonomous delivery.
Emerging players
- Refraction AI: Refraction AI builds autonomous last-mile delivery robots for restaurant and grocery delivery in select U.S. cities. Same target market (retail/foodservice last-mile) as Tortoise but a different robot format.
- Boxbot: Boxbot develops autonomous last-mile delivery vehicles with a focus on parcel logistics. Comparable to Tortoise in targeting retail/logistics use cases but focused on larger vehicles and structured routes rather than sidewalk robots.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Tortoise social profiles
Digital presenceTortoise financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tortoise leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Tortoise funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors12 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tortoise M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Tortoise
What does Tortoise do?
Tortoise is an automated delivery platform serving the retail and logistics industries. The company provides autonomous, slow-speed robotic delivery solutions designed to automate last-mile delivery operations for retailers, grocery operators, and logistics providers. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, Tortoise enables businesses to deploy unmanned sidewalk-class delivery vehicles for short-distance, urban delivery use cases.
Is Tortoise a public or private company?
Tortoise is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Tortoise founded?
Tortoise was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tortoise based?
Tortoise is headquartered in Mountain View, United States, in the North America region.
How does Tortoise make money?
One revenue line is on record: affiliate/Referral Revenue.
Who are Tortoise's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cartken, Kiwibot, Serve Robotics, Nuro, Starship Technologies and Coco Robotics. Broad incumbents are DoorDash and Uber Eats. Emerging players are Refraction AI and Boxbot.
Does Tortoise have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tortoise.
What industry is Tortoise in?
Tortoise's product category is Autonomous Delivery Robotics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLABAJAJ, Geofencing, Security & Theft Recovery, with a secondary code of TLAEAMAF, Tool, Equipment & MRO Asset Tracking (Field/Depot/Plant). Its NAICS code is 488 and its SIC code is 4731.