Food delivery company DoorDash has partnered with Also, an electric micromobility specialist, on autonomous last-mile delivery.
The strategic investment and multi-year collaboration will see the two companies work to deploy small, purpose-built EVs designed to optimize how goods move in population-dense environments.
The partnership is focused on unlocking one of the most challenging parts of last-mile delivery: the intersection of roads and road-adjacent spaces such as bike-lanes, shoulders and curbsides.
These are areas where traditional vehicles can face difficulty, and Also’s smaller, adaptable vehicles are designed to be able to navigate them.
“Small autonomous EVs are optimal in these environments,” said Also co-founder and president Chris Yu. “That is what Also is building from the ground up.”
Also and DoorDash will work together to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous delivery systems designed to operate effectively in dynamic environments where infrastructure overlaps.
“Also is building purpose-built EVs that are designed to unlock new ways to meet customers and merchants where they are,” said Stanley Tang, DoorDash co-founder and head of DoorDash Labs. “We’re excited to invest and partner with them as we look to scale autonomous delivery.”
This collaboration comes alongside Also’s US$200m Series C financing round, led by Greenoaks, with participation from Prysm Capital and strategic investment from DoorDash. As part of the partnership, Stanley Tang will join Also as a board observer.
Also said it plans to scale production and expand globally, building vehicles for people and goods that work across use cases, both driven and autonomous.
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