Serve Robotics, a robotics startup based in California, has raised $13 million in expanded seed funding to create sustainable and self-driving delivery robots.
Strategic investors like Uber Technologies, Delivery Hero backed DX Ventures; 7-Eleven Inc.’s corporate venture arm, 7-Ventures, LLC; and Wavemaker Partners’ food automation-focused venture studio Wavemaker Labs. Neo, Western Technology Investment, and Scott Banister participated in the previous stage of the round. Sarfraz Maredia, Vice President and Head of Uber Eats in North America, referred to the firm’s participation in the round by stating:
“Uber and Serve share a commitment to convenience and reliability. As a Serve investor, we’re excited to help shape self-driving delivery technology that can meet changing consumer and merchant needs.”
Severe Robotics was founded in 2017 as the robotics division of Postamates with the mission to change how delivery is thought of. With this purpose, it is designing affordable, sustainable, and accessible self-driving robots that have already completed more than 10k contactless deliveries across the United States, proving the benefits of self-driving delivery for restaurants and other businesses. Dr. Ali Kashani, Co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics, said about how the round will boost the startup’s efforts:
“Serve Robotics is pleased to have the backing of strong strategic partners able to support our intention to provide sustainable, self-driving delivery at scale. This initial round of financial and strategic support will allow us to continue advancing our technology, growing our team, and expanding our partnership platform.”
Contactless deliveries have become an increasingly popular service amid the COVID19 pandemic as a means to diminish the chances of getting infected and make up for the increasing labor shortage experienced by the gastronomy industry. Serve Robotics has not only provided companies with a means to continue operating under the constraints of social distancing but also improved efficiency, reduced costs, and facilitated logistics.
