DoorDash Partners with Serve Robotics to Expand Delivery Options

DoorDash customers in Los Angeles may soon find their meals delivered by Serve Robotics’ sidewalk bots, thanks to a new multi-year collaboration announced on Thursday. This partnership plans to utilize autonomous robots for deliveries across the United States, marking another step in DoorDash’s expansion into automated solutions.

This announcement follows closely on the heels of DoorDash's introduction of Dot, its own autonomous delivery robot, currently being tested in Phoenix. While Dot is designed to navigate roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks at speeds up to 20 miles per hour, Serve’s robots focus mainly on sidewalk travel.

DoorDash is no stranger to innovative partnerships, having previously teamed up with companies like Coco for sidewalk deliveries and Wing for drone operations. According to Ashu Rege, VP of autonomy at DoorDash Labs, these efforts are part of a strategy to create a diverse delivery platform that includes multiple modes of transport.

While companies like Uber have also ventured into partnerships with autonomous tech, DoorDash is taking a unique approach by developing its own technology alongside these collaborations. Rege believes this dual strategy will set DoorDash apart from companies like Uber and Lyft, which have faced challenges in operationalizing both technology and service platforms.

DoorDash’s financial success in 2024 and early 2025, highlighted by a notable increase in delivery volumes, supports their ambitious plans. Rege emphasizes the need for expanded delivery methods to accommodate a growing customer base, suggesting that Dot offers a solution for the last-mile delivery challenge that neither sidewalk robots nor robotaxis can fully address.

Dot's design caters to suburban deliveries over a distance of three to five miles, bridging a gap in current delivery technologies. While human couriers remain integral for more complex tasks, DoorDash sees autonomous robots as a means to optimize delivery efficiency and respond to increasing demand.