Chinese e-commerce retailer JD.com Inc. unveiled plans to open 1,000 restaurants fully staffed by robots by 2020 in a bid to compete against Alibaba's partially automated eateries, the Nikkei Asian Review reported June 1.
The first restaurant is slated to open in August, although its location is yet to be announced. Robots will prepare and serve food to diners in the restaurants, the report added.
The unmanned restaurants will feature a menu of about 40 dishes from across China, the report said. In addition, the company will directly operate some of the stores, while some will be franchised to other businesses to accelerate expansion.
