Touraj Parang is happy to discuss Shake Shack, the new partner for his company Serve Robotics, but he really wants to talk about John Mulaney.
Touraj Parang, president of Serve Robotics
“Did you see his show ‘Everyone’s in LA’?” Parang asked during an interview. “We were prominently featured on each episode. The last one was even sort of dedicated to the robot. It was kind of a tragic hero story.”
There is nothing tragic about the trajectory of Serve Robotics, with the Mulaney love and today’s news that its fleet of autonomous delivery robots will be motoring around the city of angels with ShackBurgers and hand-spun shakes.
The company has been exciting investors for years, which has resulted in impressive stock growth. This news will add to its luster.
Serve currently has about 100 robots on the streets in Los Angeles, delivering orders that come through Uber Eats. Serve robots are already fixtures in Hollywood, West Hollywood, and Koreatown, much to Mulaney’s amusement.
Serve plans to expand to 2,000 robots by the end of next year and will try its hand in new markets. “We’re looking at San Diego and Dallas,” Parang said. “We’re interested in areas where delivery partners have demand, have volume, and where it makes sense for merchants on their platforms, such as Shake Shack.”
Parang is confident about growth and has been since Serve’s early days.
“A few years back, when we were with Postmates, we had access to data that showed that more than half of the deliveries in the U.S. were less than two and a half miles in radius,” he said. “That was an a-ha moment for us.”
A Serve robot can cruise up to 7 mph and the goal is for an order to be delivered within 20 to 30 minutes of pick-up from the restaurant. “We try not to take orders unless we can deliver a delightful customer experience,” Parang said.
Obviously Shake Shack and Uber Eats are everywhere in the U.S., and in many places overseas, so there is an opportunity to really spread the word with each drop-off.
“Shake Shack has more than 500 locations around the world,” Parang said. “It’s great to have such an international partner like them as we expand our deployment areas.”
The feeling is mutual.
“We’re thrilled about our collaboration with Serve Robotics,” said Steph So, senior vice president of digital experience at Shake Shack, in a statement. “In line with our vision of enlightened hospitality, this partnership highlights our commitment to leveraging innovation to enhance guest experiences both in and out of Shack.”
And who knows. If celebs like Mulaney keep fawning, maybe one day a Serve robot will have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
