Uber Eats will begin deploying autonomous sidewalk robots for food delivery from December, following a new global partnership with Starship Technologies. The collaboration will start in Leeds, UK, before rolling out to multiple European countries in 2026 and the US in 2027.

Autonomous delivery is an exciting part of how we see the future of Uber Eats.”

The agreement positions Uber Eats to commercialise autonomous delivery at scale, using Starship’s fleet of AI-powered robots. Starship Technologies’ machines have already completed more than nine million deliveries across seven countries, and will now support Uber’s strategy to develop “next-generation delivery experiences” in key markets.

According to the companies, the UK launch will see Level 4 autonomous robots delivering meals within 30 minutes across distances of up to two miles. The technology is designed for urban sidewalks, helping platforms reduce delivery costs, improve accuracy and target customer convenience.

Future of food delivery

The initiative follows a wave of international trials in automated food delivery. Just Eat recently piloted Swiss-built ground robots in Zurich, while Deliveroo began drone delivery tests in Dublin in June. 

Ahti Heinla, co-founder and CEO of Starship Technologies, said the collaboration would accelerate the future of urban logistics. “Together, we’re building the infrastructure that will define the next generation of urban logistics,” he said. “Uber Eats has built the world’s leading delivery platform, with the widest reach, trusted by millions across 10,000 cities. We bring scalable autonomous technology that works profitably at city scale.”

Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous at Uber, added: “Autonomous delivery is an exciting part of how we see the future of Uber Eats. Together with Starship, we’re bringing this future to life across multiple continents, leveraging Uber’s global scale and Starship’s proven autonomy to deliver efficient and affordable experiences for consumers and merchants everywher.”