DoorDash customers in Los Angeles could soon receive their food orders from autonomous robots, thanks to a new multi-year partnership with Serve Robotics announced on Thursday. The collaboration aims to deploy Serve’s sidewalk delivery bots for DoorDash deliveries nationwide.
The partnership follows the launch of Dot, DoorDash’s in-house autonomous food delivery bot that’s currently being tested in the Phoenix area. Unlike Serve’s sidewalk bots, Dot can travel on roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks at speeds up to 20 mph, giving DoorDash flexibility across different environments.
According to Ashu Rege, VP of autonomy at DoorDash Labs, these efforts are part of a broader strategy to create a multimodal delivery network that combines drones, road bots, and sidewalk robots. DoorDash has previously collaborated with other tech startups, including Coco and Wing, to explore new delivery technologies.
Serve’s bots already operate with multiple companies, including Uber, mirroring the gig economy model where different services share the same platform. However, DoorDash stands out by developing its own delivery hardware, a move that tech giants like Uber, Lyft, and Nuro have previously attempted but later abandoned due to high manufacturing costs.
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Rege insists that DoorDash’s approach will be different. After a profitable 2024 and record earnings in the first half of 2025, the company says it’s ready to scale production of Dot. “We felt there was a gap,” Rege explained. “A burrito isn’t going to walk itself to your door. Dot helps close that last 10 feet of delivery.”
DoorDash plans to reserve human drivers for more complex deliveries, while bots like Dot and Serve’s units handle short, suburban trips within three to five miles.
