Tire-Changing Robot Startup Files for Bankruptcy

RoboTire, an automation startup developing a robotic tire-changing system, has filed for bankruptcy.

In the filing, the company, which filed for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, stated it has approximately $12.7 million in liabilities and $12.3 million in assets. The company will liquidate its assets to pay off creditors. 

RoboTire first launched in 2018 and announced the first commercial deployment of its system at a Detroit garage last May.

The system uses AI and machine vision to change a car’s four wheels twice as fast as a human worker. 

It identifies and navigates around the wheels of a car, guiding robot arms to change its tires. It also identifies the type and size of the tire, selecting the correct replacement from a library of tire makes and models pre-loaded into its system.

In 2022, RoboTire raised $7.5 million in a series A funding round and announced its plans for operational expansion across the U.S. and Canada in May of 2023. It has since been plagued with financial difficulties. The company was sued in December 2023 by American Funding Services, which said the tire automation company owed it more than $130,000.