Serve Robotics has gone bicoastal.
Earlier this month Serve Robotics announced that its delivery robots are now scooting along sidewalks in the Miami Beach and Brickell neighborhoods, fulfilling orders from long-time partner Shake Shack and new local partner Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza. This marks the company’s first expansion from its original perch in Los Angeles.
Ali Kashani, CEO and co-founder of Serve Robotics
“We look for cities and partners that are tech-forward and excited to try new things,” said Ali Kashani, CEO and co-founder of Serve Robotics, in an interview. “This is our first time on the East Coast and we’re delighted to be in Miami and expand our relationships there.”
One relationship that is continuing is its partnership with Uber Eats, which is crucial.
“Uber Eats helps us land in any city,” he said. “We know there will be demand.”
The company had previously indicated that Dallas would be its next move. Kashani insists the company still has big plans for Big D.
“It’s in the works,” he said, confirming it will likely be its next expansion market.
The bigger picture remains the same as what Kashani has been saying for a while: to deploy 2,000 robots across the country by the end of the year. He declines to give a fleet number in Miami but its total tally of robots in service clearly has gone up. And the company would be delighted to add to those numbers.
“We’re hoping to build on our momentum and add more Miami partners,” he said.
Going forward the brand is assessing the robot-friendliness of more cities, like Vancouver, which would provide a test to the durability of the robots in a rainier and chillier climate. Kashani is confident his robots can handle the elements.
“Fundamentally, there’s nothing that our robots can’t handle in colder weather,” he said. “Of course we’re focusing on making sure they continue to thrive in Los Angeles and Miami first. They have to work there first. But we’re looking at places with more precipitation and snow.”
And then there are the company’s loftier goals, to provide a low-emissions solution to cities dealing with congestion and to eventually be relied on during times of crisis.
“There are certain problems that we’re so used to we don’t even notice anymore,” he said, noting the inefficient and costly nature of vehicles making last-mile deliveries. “Think of all the pedestrians killed by cars in the U.S. every day. A decent amount of those trips are local, about a quarter of which robots could do. We can eliminate the risk of accidents. We’re actually close to a turning point on this where people will want us to come in.”
For now it’s sticking to restaurants. Although Miami and Los Angeles are decidedly distinct cities, the company’s rollout approach for each market is similar.
“It’s the same playbook for our expansion around L.A.,” he said. “You put the robots there, start the operations, collect the data map, build the relationships, work with the cities. It’s all the same process.”
