100 Robots Deliver Coffee at South Korea's Naver Tower

Imagine ordering lunch at work and having it delivered by a robot that rides the elevator all by itself.

That's daily life at Naver's headquarters in Seongnam, just south of Seoul. The South Korean tech company has deployed about 100 service robots nicknamed "Rookie" throughout its 28-story building, creating what the company calls a living laboratory for artificial intelligence.

These aren't your typical robots confined to one floor or area. The Rookies navigate the entire building independently, using elevators, passing through security gates, and traveling between floors without any human help. Employees simply request deliveries through a mobile app and verify their identity when the robot arrives with their food, drinks, packages, or documents.

"The ability for robots to use elevators and travel across the entire building is a distinctive feature," a company official explained. The robots position themselves strategically for easy access and operate on time-specific schedules throughout the day.

Naver Labs, the company's research division, develops the technology behind these helpful machines. The facility serves as a testing ground for various robot types, including wheeled service units and bipedal walking robots, all working toward building a broader robotics ecosystem.

The real innovation happens in the cloud. A platform called "ARC Brain" manages the entire robot fleet from one central location, allowing simultaneous coordination of multiple machines. This integrated approach represents a major step forward in making robots practical for everyday workplace tasks.

The Ripple Effect

What's happening at Naver's headquarters hints at a bigger transformation coming to workplaces worldwide. By handling routine deliveries and transport tasks, these robots free human workers to focus on creative and strategic work that requires emotional intelligence and problem solving.

The technology is already proving its business value. Naver reported record results in 2025, with revenue reaching $8.2 billion and operating profit hitting $1.47 billion. Market analysts project even stronger performance this year, with revenue expected to climb to $8.9 billion.

The company is expanding AI integration beyond robotics too, adding new AI features to its core search business after launching an AI briefing service last year.

Other companies watching Naver's robot experiment gain insights into making automation work at scale without disrupting daily operations. The lessons learned from managing 100 robots across 28 floors could help businesses everywhere implement similar systems more smoothly.

As these robots become as common as elevators in office buildings, they're quietly showing us a future where technology handles the heavy lifting while humans focus on what we do best.