Serve’s robots are now delivering to some DoorDash customers in Los Angeles, and the service will be expanded to other cities in the coming years, the companies said in a Thursday (Oct. 9) press release.
DoorDash said in the release that it is pursuing a multi-modal delivery platform strategy that will include delivery people, drones and autonomous robots, enabling it to match orders with the most effective delivery method.
“Partnering with Serve gives our platform even more delivery options, expanding how we fulfill orders for consumers and merchants alike,” Harrison Shih, head of product for DoorDash Labs, said in the release.
Serve already operates in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta, and its robots have completed more than 100,000 deliveries from more than 2,500 restaurants, according to the release.
“By teaming up with DoorDash, we’re accelerating our vision to make sustainable, reliable robotic delivery available in every neighborhood across the U.S.,” Serve Robotics Co-founder and CEO Ali Kashani said in the release.
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It was reported in July that robotics companies focused on food delivery have gotten roughly $3.5 billion in investments since 2019. Proponents said robots and drones can make food delivery more economical.
Serve said in January that it secured $86 million in new financing in December 2024 to continue developing its sidewalk delivery robots.
The company was spun off from Uber in 2021 and has secured about $220 million in total funding since becoming an independent company.
Serve said at the time that its enterprise partners include Uber Eats and 7-Eleven and that it has a contract to deploy up to 2,000 robots on the Uber Eats platform.
Kashani told PYMNTS in February that in the future, autonomous delivery robots could deliver medications, pharmacy items, parcels and groceries; return products for customers; and pick up clothing or shoes from local stores and bring them to customers to try on.
“There’s a lot of other things we can do with these robots once they’re out there,” Kashani said. “They’re making the cost of last mile substantially lowered.”
