Uber and Starship launch first sidewalk robot deliveries in Europe

Uber Technologies Inc. will introduce sidewalk robot deliveries in Europe for the first time through a new partnership with Starship Technologies Inc. The rollout begins in parts of the United Kingdom in December.

Customers in Leeds and Sheffield will be able to request the service when ordering from select merchants on the Uber Eats platform. Uber said Starship’s robots can complete trips of up to two miles in less than 30 minutes.

Uber plans to expand the service area and add more European markets in 2026. The company also expects to introduce the option in the United States in 2027.

Uber has formed more than a dozen partnerships as it builds a hybrid network combining human couriers and autonomous vehicles. Deliveries are becoming a larger part of its operations, with analysts estimating that the unit will generate about 47% of gross bookings in 2025.

Uber currently offers autonomous deliveries for thousands of merchants in nine cities across the United States and Japan through other robotics partners. The agreement with Starship will extend this approach to more of Uber’s markets, especially in Europe’s competitive delivery sector.

San Francisco-based Starship operates what it calls the world’s largest autonomous delivery fleet, with more than 2,700 robots deployed across more than 270 locations. The company works with Bolt Technology OU in Europe and Grubhub on US college campuses using its six-wheeled carts.

Starship raised $50 million in Series C funding last month and has completed more than 9 million deliveries. DoorDash Inc., Uber’s largest US competitor, is expanding in Europe following its acquisition of Deliveroo in October and Wolt in 2022.

DoorDash began testing robot deliveries with Coco Robotics in Helsinki earlier this year. The company later expanded the trials to Los Angeles and Chicago.

Uber said the partnership will help test its hybrid model in additional operating regions. The company expects broader use of autonomous tools as competition intensifies in Europe. Uber (UBER) has a Disruption Score of 4. Click here to learn more about our scoring system.