Uber has Atlanta’s autonomous ride-hailing and delivery market on lock


Uber Eats prospects in Atlanta can now choose in to have their meals delivered by way of sidewalk supply robots, following accomplice Serve Robotics’s launch on Thursday. The transfer comes simply two days after Uber and Waymo launched a business robotaxi service within the metropolis. 

Serve, which spun out of Uber in 2021 earlier than braving the general public markets final yr, is one among 18 autonomous automobile corporations that Uber has partnered with to get a first-mover benefit on the consumer-facing facet of autonomy. The ride-hailing and supply big stated it has an annual run fee of 1.5 million mobility and supply AV journeys on its community. 

Atlanta marks Serve’s fourth business metropolis after launching in partnership with Uber in Los Angeles, Miami, and Dallas Forth Value. Not like a lot of its rivals which might be scaling by coming into school campuses, Serve is simply launching in city environments. CEO Ali Kashani has instructed TechCrunch that it is because sidewalks on metropolis streets are a tougher drawback to resolve with a better alternative for income.  

Serve didn’t share what number of bots it deployed in Atlanta at launch, although the corporate expects to develop from roughly 100 bots in Los Angeles as we speak to 2,000 throughout a number of U.S. cities by the top of 2025. 

A Serve spokesperson instructed TechCrunch that Uber Eats prospects will be capable of obtain robotic deliveries all through metro Atlanta — from Midtown to Outdated Fourth Ward and Downtown Atlanta — with plans to develop the working territory sooner or later. The service might be out there from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., in accordance with Uber.

Collaborating eating places in Atlanta embrace Rreal Tacos, Ponko Hen, and Shake Shack.