Dive Brief:
- Serve Robotics will begin operating sidewalk delivery robots in Miami in the coming weeks, according to a statement emailed to Restaurant Dive on Tuesday.
- The tech firm will begin offering deliveries in partnership with Shake Shack and Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza, a local pizza shop, in Miami Beach, Florida and the Brickell neighborhood in Miami, according to the press release. The company previously partnered with Shake Shack in Los Angeles last year.
- The expansion marks Serve’s first East Coast market, and will test the robotics firm’s ability to scale and adapt its delivery model to different urban environments. It plans to enter Dallas-Fort Worth, as well.
Dive Insight:
Serve has made substantial investments in growing its operations since it went public through a reverse merger in the summer of 2023.
In October, Serve debuted a larger, faster and longer-range robot. In November, the robotics company bought Vebu, a Chipotle-backed firm that is developing automated restaurant equipment including Chipotle’s avocado processing machine. Those investments are ostensibly intended to speed up the company’s growth and help it meet its goal of deploying 2,000 delivery bots in partnership with Uber Eats.
Serve said the population of the neighborhoods where it will operate in Miami is around 120,000 people, and that it has worked closely with city officials on the deployment of its robots. Uber Eats is also familiar with robotic delivery in the region — it partnered with automated delivery robotics company Cartken in Miami in 2022.
Ali Kashani, the CEO and co-founder of Serve Robotics, said its entry to Miami was a major step and claimed robotic delivery could ease traffic congestion and reduce emissions.
Steph So, Shake Shack’s chief growth officer, said the deal was an exciting expansion of the burger brand’s relationship with Serve and Uber Eats.
“This partnership aligns perfectly with our vision of enlightened hospitality, using innovation to elevate the guest experience both inside and beyond our Shacks,” So said in the press release.
