Uber and Avride have entered a multi-year strategic partnership to bring Avride’s delivery robots and autonomous vehicles to Uber and Uber Eats.
The delivery partnership will launch with sidewalk robots on Uber Eats in Austin, Texas, in the coming week, before expanding to Dallas and Jersey City, New Jersey, later this year. The mobility partnership is expected to launch in Dallas later next year.
Once launched, when a consumer requests a qualifying delivery or ride on the Uber Eats or Uber apps, they will be presented with the option to have that trip fulfilled by an Avride delivery robot or autonomous vehicle.
Avride has experience developing and operating both autonomous cars and delivery robots. The company’s delivery robots are already making commercial deliveries in the USA and South Korea, while its autonomous cars are currently being tested on public roads.
Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Avride, said, “We are excited to partner with Uber as we scale our operations and work together to further improve the delivery experience for both consumers and merchants. We plan to expand the total fleet of Avride robots operating within Uber Eats to hundreds in 2025, followed by the launch of our robotaxi service.”
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said, “Autonomous mobility and delivery hold a ton of promise for consumers and communities. We’re excited to partner with Avride to bring their technology to more people in more places, as they continue to scale.”