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🦄 Unicorner Startup of the Week:
Serve Robotics
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✍️ Notes From The Editors
Hope your weekend went well! While Amazon’s delivery drones have been a topic of discussion for some time now, not much conversation has occurred around how robots can shake up the online food delivery scene. For that reason, we want to highlight Serve Robotics this week. Reply to this email with your thoughts!
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Self-driving food delivery
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Serve Robotics is on a mission to create sustainable food delivery solutions using robots. Serve’s compact robots facilitate food deliveries in urban settings rather than relying on human drivers. Originally founded in 2017 as part of Postmates' robotic division, Serve was spun off as an independent startup earlier this year following Uber’s acquisition of Postmates. The company has operated in Los Angeles and San Francisco, with plans to expand across the U.S. over the next few years.
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💰 Business Model
Revenue is generated through partnerships with delivery services like Uber Eats.
📈 Traction and Fundraising
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Raised $13 million extended seed round from investors like Uber, 7-Eleven, DX Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, Neo, Western Technology Investment, Scott Banister, and more
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Partnered with and currently facilitating robotic deliveries for Uber Eats
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👫 Founder(s)
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Ali Kashani, CEO: Previously Head of Serve Robotics @ Uber, VP of Special Projects & Head of X @ Postmates, Founder & CEO @ Lox Inc. (acquired by Postmates), Co-Founder & CTO @ Neurio Technology, Robotics and Computer Vision PhD @ The University of British Columbia
💼 Opportunities
Be sure to mention you came from Unicorner when applying!
🔮 Our Analysis
When one visits the website of Serve Robotics, they’re immediately presented with the following question: “Why move a 2-pound burrito in a 2-ton car?” This question is the underlying reason why Serve exists—to bring sustainability and automation to the world of food delivery. In our opinion, Serve Robotics is in a prime position to revolutionize how food orders are facilitated. Serve isn’t the only company working on robot food deliveries (for example, Starship Technologies, which was founded by two Skype co-founders, is currently available at universities across the world). However, given its existing partnerships with industry giants like Uber Eats and Postmates, as well as potential plans to work with 7-Eleven, the company’s robots will likely become a common occurrence in urban settings soon. According to Ali Kashani, Serve’s CEO, each robot is equipped with technology to help it make real-time decisions (like navigating a sidewalk or crossing the street), and in special circumstances where the robot isn’t able to confidently make a decision, a person will be called in. Among many bold plans, Serve is expected to provide on-demand Uber Eats delivery throughout LA early next year. We’ll give you a rundown of our experience once it’s available!
📚 Further Reading
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Made with 💜 by the Unicorner Team 🦄
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🎁 Bonus Content!
Want to hear some opinions on what the future of delivery robots looks like? Here’s an article from Forbes discussing the topic with a focus on the successes of a similar company, Starship. |
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