"The sprawling metropolis of Phoenix continues to be a testbed for Waymo, and not just on the technical front. The Alphabet-owned company has used its first testing and commercial market to experiment with its business model, too, including delivery. Waymo is known for its robotaxis, but it has tested how its tech could be used for delivery. The company previously tapped UPS and Uber Eats for pilot programs, and it also put considerable staff and resources towards developing self-driving trucks under its Waymo Via arm, before shuttering that program in 2023 to focus on robotaxis."
"Now, it seems Waymo is ready to test the delivery waters through a strategic, multi-year partnership with DoorDash. Waymo doesn't have any other active delivery-focused testing, operations, or partnerships, according to a company spokesperson. The partnership will match DoorDash customers ordering food and groceries within a 315-square-mile area of Phoenix with a self-driving Waymo, the company wrote in a blog post. Not every DoorDash order will result in a Waymo delivery. Initially, the Waymo delivery service will deliver orders from DashMart - DoorDash's convenience, grocery, and retail stores. The companies said that, over time, more local Phoenix merchants and a wider variety of offerings will be added."
Waymo is expanding delivery experiments in Phoenix by partnering with DoorDash on a multi-year program to match local food and grocery orders with self-driving Waymos across a 315-square-mile area. The service will initially handle DashMart convenience, grocery, and retail orders, with plans to add more local merchants and offerings over time. Waymo previously ran delivery pilots with UPS and Uber Eats and developed Waymo Via self-driving trucks before ending that program in 2023 to focus on robotaxis. DoorDash has existing autonomous delivery efforts, including work with Serve Robotics and its in-house Dot delivery bot tested in Phoenix.
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