The food delivery service war is heating up as companies are cutting out the middle man and using self-driving vehicles.
Uber Eats, the food delivery division of Uber (UBER), signed a 10-year deal to partner with Nuro, a Mountain View, Calif.-based autonomous vehicle startup.
Consumers can order food from various restaurants and a self-driving vehicle will begin making deliveries this fall in Mountain View and Houston.
After testing the delivery service in Houston and Mountain View, the companies will expand into the greater Bay Area.
Nuro said it was the first company to have full autonomous vehicle operations in three states -- Arizona, California and Texas.
The robotics startup also was the first company to obtain an autonomous deployment permit from California's Department of Motor Vehicles.
"Our partnership with Uber underscores Nuro's track record of partnering with the world's leading brands to make autonomous delivery a seamless experience," said Cosimo Leipold, head of partnerships at Nuro.
Neither company disclosed when the deliveries would start and how many restaurants or grocery stores would be available for shoppers to choose from for their orders.
"With our unique autonomous delivery vehicles and Uber's phenomenal scale and reach, we can expand food delivery options from your favorite local mom-and-pop restaurants all the way to nationwide chains," he said.
Nuro's Other Investors
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), a Mexican-style fast casual restaurant, invested in a $500 million Series C funding round for Nuro in March 2021.
Nuro is backed by SoftBank and the funding round was led by T. Rowe Price Associates, raising a total of $500 million. Chipotle did not disclose the amount of its investment, but said the deal was a "significant" third-party investment since CEO Brian Niccol began his tenure in 2018.
Providing more convenience for customers is important, Curt Garner, Chipotle's chief technology officer said.
The investment allowed Nuro to hire more employees and expand its deliveries, said Nuro co-founder and president Dave Ferguson.
Nuro was founded in 2016 and uses Toyota Prius cars that have been retrofitted with its self-driving technology to bring customers prescriptions and groceries for Walmart, Kroger and CVS in Houston in 2021.
The robotics startup raised $940 million from SoftBank in 2019.
In July, Nuro promoted Andrew Clare to chief technology officer and Abishek Viswanathan to CFO.
Clare started his tenure at Nuro in 2017 while Viswanathan started working for the company in 2018.
As of July 19, the company has received $1 billion in financing from T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and Baillie Gif, Viswanathan said in a blog post. Nuro employs 1,500 workers.
"We can be that backbone of local commerce, moving goods more efficiently within our communities through affordable on-demand delivery, and in the process, reducing emissions, making our roads safer and giving people time back to do the things they love," he said.
