DoorDash Inc. collaborated with sidewalk-robot developer Serve Robotics Inc. for autonomous deliveries across the US, adding to an array of delivery methods the company is exploring to complement human couriers. This collaboration is a significant advancement in the field of artificial intelligence in transportation, showcasing the integration of AI-driven autonomous robots into last-mile delivery logistics.
Starting in Los Angeles, with the help of multiyear partnership Serve’s robots will fulfill some DoorDash orders. Serve, which also counts DoorDash rival Uber Technologies Inc. as a partner, has completed tens of thousands of deliveries in five US cities: LA, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta.
Neither partnerships is exclusive, meaning Serve can optimize its robots’ time by taking orders from both DoorDash and Uber, similar to how delivery workers toggle between multiple apps to find better-paying or nearby gigs.
In April, the company expanded its partnership with another sidewalk robot company, Coco Robotics, for orders in LA and Chicago. And last week it unveiled its own delivery robot developed in-house, which it said is built for suburban markets where it can deliver bigger orders, at faster speeds and across longer distances on both sidewalks and roads.
Executive Statement
According to Chief Executive Officer Ali Kashani said of DoorDash's in-house robot, It’s a good validation because now they are seeing both of the major platforms in the country investing quite a bit in autonomy. For the longest time, for eight years, they are been kind of screaming this off the rooftops, and now they have more support for that.