Coco, the Los Angeles-based remotely piloted delivery service, has officially hit the streets of Austin, Texas. It’s the company’s first big step toward nationwide expansion after its recent Series A funding round of $56 million, with upcoming plans to enter the Dallas, Houston and Miami markets in the coming months.
In 2021, Coco began operating in “all major LA neighborhoods,” touting a 30 percent decrease in time-to-customer and an on-time delivery rate of 97 percent. As demand for Coco’s services grew from merchants across the country, Coco set its expansion into motion, landing first in Austin before heading to Texas’s other major cities.
“We’re excited that Coco is launching their first-ever expansion outside of California and bringing their innovative technology to Austin,” said Roland Peña, senior vice president of global tech and innovation for the Austin Chamber of Commerce. “Coco was founded on the same entrepreneurial spirit that Austin has been embracing for decades. Their dedication to a streamlined service that simultaneously reduces costs, increases consistency and helps our businesses connect with customers in a sustainable way fits right into the Austin region’s identity of ingenuity, customer success and business profitability.”
“When evaluating markets for expansion, Austin stood out to the team as a perfect match,” said Coco co-founder and CEO Zach Rash. “Austin’s entrepreneurial spirit, top-notch food scene, and commitment to supporting small businesses makes it an ideal fit for Coco.”
Coco launched Austin with 10 partners, including Arpeggio Grill, Bamboo Bistro, Clay Pit, DeSano Pizzeria, Tuk Tuk Thai, and Aviator Pizza, and will continue to onboard over the coming weeks to accommodate the influx of merchant interest. This initial launch includes merchants servicing the South Lamar, South Congress, South Austin, Downtown, Northside, North Loop, and Domain neighborhoods.
“We’re excited about the new partnership with Coco this month. The Coco team has been on the ground getting everything ready to kick it off. Their people have been just fantastic,” said Jimmy FitzGerald, Owner of DeSano Pizzeria Napoletana. “Our DeSano teams here in Austin are very excited about this new ground-breaking delivery platform at both locations.”
“Tuk Tuk Thai Cafe is super excited to be part of the first launch of Coco robot delivery in Austin. We believe this innovation will provide a faster and more reliable delivery service to our customers,” said Nam Noieam of Tuk Tuk Thai Cafe.
The CEO of Aviator Pizza added, “We are very happy to be partnering with Coco for delivery. We love to support innovative companies that are out there making changes in the world. We feel remotely piloted delivery is the bridge to the day we have reliable and safe autonomous delivery vehicles.”
