Aug 17 (Reuters) - Serve Robotics said on Monday it is partnering with Grubhub to fulfill orders on the food delivery platform using its sidewalk delivery robots, tapping a new marketplace days after its years-long tie-up with Uber Eats fell through.
The San Francisco-based robotics company, known for its boxy, four-wheeled robots delivering Uber Eats and DoorDash orders, said its tie-up with Grubhub will initially launch in Chicago, Los Angeles and Alexandria.
The partnership comes as Serve is set to lose its Uber delivery alliance early next year. Uber exited its stake in the company and Serve said earlier this month that it does not currently plan to renew their agreement when it expires, citing declining order volumes and "differing views".
"We certainly see the lost volume from Uber more than replaced over time (through the Grubhub partnership and other initiatives). We believe this is a path where we will grow faster, that's the entire reason for this," Serve CEO Ali Kashani told Reuters.
Serve also said it launched in San Jose, California and Washington, D.C., with DoorDash, marking its seventh and eighth major U.S. markets.
It is also rolling out "micro depots" — or smaller sites to handle robot stationing, charging, dispatch, and maintenance — in Miami, to reduce costs and development timelines associated with a full-scale facility.
The micro depots require minimal infrastructure and can be set up quickly, allowing Serve to enter new markets faster and at a lower cost, Kashani said.
Meanwhile, Grubhub's parent company Wonder has doubled down on automation as food delivery firms turn to robots to slash labor costs. In June, the company said it would roll out drone deliveries in Texas starting January.
Serve also said it has begun rolling out the next generation of its Moxi hospital robots, banking on its acquisition of physical AI company Diligent Robotics earlier this year to tap into the healthcare automation market and diversify its revenue streams.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)
