Starship Technologies has completed nine million deliveries, surpassing all U.S. competitors combined by five times, and has secured an additional USD 50 million in funding. The company aims to increase its robot fleet from 2,700 to over 12,000 by 2027, focusing on expanding into American cities.
Starship’s fleet operates in six countries and is profitable on a per-delivery basis in some markets. Co-founder and CEO Ahti Heinla highlighted the company's success in European urban markets and U.S. campuses. Heinla stated, "Now it's time to replicate this proven success in American cities. Millions of U.S. consumers will soon experience sub-30-minute delivery by Starship robots as the new standard."
The company's strategy focuses on autonomous systems for "last-mile" logistics, contrasting with competitors like DoorDash's Dot robot, Amazon's tested delivery bots, Uber Eats' deployment of Serve Robotics in Los Angeles, and drone deliveries by Walmart and Google's Wing. Starship, co-founded by Skype co-founders Heinla and Janus Friis, is no longer in an experimental phase.
The new USD 50 million investment supplements a previous USD 230 million, with the goal of making robotic delivery a mainstream service. Heinla noted that Starship has been operating continuously for up to seven years in cities such as Milton Keynes, UK, becoming an integral part of the community.
Starship's robots navigate sidewalks and bike lanes, autonomously handling over 200 million road crossings to date. They use onboard cameras and computer vision, mapped to real-world terrain, for navigation. Heinla explained that this mapping provides precision of one inch, which is far more accurate than GPS for their purposes.
Unlike many drone and vehicle-based systems that require central hubs, Starship’s robots live outdoors, charge autonomously, and require infrequent servicing. Heinla mentioned that in Finland, two maintenance centres support deliveries across dozens of cities, a decentralised model intended to facilitate faster rollouts.
A key factor accelerating robot delivery adoption is cost, which Heinla stated is lower than human couriers due to the absence of tipping, fuel expenses for the electric vehicles, and human labour costs. "Affordability is very important," Heinla said, adding, "This is not some sort of luxury service."
This affordability offers a compelling proposition in an industry grappling with labour costs, driver turnover, and fluctuating fuel prices. Grocery retailers typically observe a 10% revenue lift after integrating Starship, likely due to increased order frequency and the novelty appeal of the service. Consumer appeal also stems from speed and the option to use the service multiple times a week for various order sizes.
Starship has not yet announced the initial U.S. cities for its expanded service, acknowledging that success depends on public policy, regulation, public perception, and aggressive competition. Despite these challenges, Heinla conveyed confidence, asserting, "We have solved all of the problems that there are there to solve."
Starship Technologies has completed nine million deliveries, exceeding U.S. competitors by five times.
The company raised an additional USD 50 million, aiming to grow its robot fleet from 2,700 to over 12,000 by 2027.
Starship's robots operate in six countries, utilising computer vision for precise navigation with one-inch accuracy.
Source: FORBES
