Grubhub is adding Serve Robotics’ sidewalk delivery robots to its marketplace, opening another major lane for autonomous food delivery as Serve works to spread its fleet across more platforms and cities.
According to Serve Robotics, the new partnership launches robot delivery for Grubhub customers in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Alexandria, Virginia. More than 100 participating Grubhub merchants in Chicago and nearly 200 in Los Angeles will have access to the service, with additional restaurants expected to join over time. Wonder’s Alexandria location will also offer delivery through Serve’s autonomous network.
The Grubhub deal arrives at a pivotal point for Serve. The robotics company has spent years building around Uber Eats, but that relationship is now moving toward an end. Axios reported that Serve does not plan to renew its Uber Eats agreement when the contract expires in 2027. Axios also reported that Uber sold its remaining Serve shares.
That split carries real financial weight. In its second quarter 2026 earnings report, Serve cut its full-year revenue guidance to between $9 million and $10 million, citing lower-than-expected delivery volume through Uber Eats and removing anticipated Uber demand from its second-half projections. Serve still reported $3.2 million in second-quarter revenue, a 404 percent increase compared with the same period in 2025.
The Grubhub partnership gives Serve another way to put its growing fleet to work. According to the company, it has deployed more than 2,000 robots in the United States and currently supports deliveries for more than 4,000 restaurants. Serve said each additional delivery platform increases the number of restaurants and neighborhoods its robots can reach.
Serve is also expanding with DoorDash. The company said it has launched delivery operations in Washington, D.C., and San Jose, California, through its DoorDash partnership, making those its seventh and eighth major U.S. markets. Serve robots have already completed their first month of deliveries in San Jose, while Washington service includes Dupont Circle and parts of downtown.
The strategy reflects a much larger race to automate the last mile of food delivery. DoorDash introduced its own autonomous delivery robot, Dot, in September 2025. The electric robot was designed to move through roads, bike lanes, sidewalks, and driveways and launched through an early access program in Arizona.
DoorDash has also partnered with Coco Robotics for sidewalk deliveries. In April 2025, the companies expanded robot service in Los Angeles and Chicago, making Coco robots available for eligible orders from nearly 600 participating merchants. DoorDash described robots as one part of a broader delivery system that also includes human Dashers and drones.
Grubhub is not new to the concept either. According to Grubhub, it has previously worked with Kiwibot, Cartken and Starship Technologies to offer robot delivery on college campuses. That earlier strategy focused heavily on campuses, while the Serve partnership brings the technology further into major urban markets including Chicago and Los Angeles.
Serve is also changing the infrastructure behind its expansion. According to the company, its first smaller micro depots are set to open in Miami. The locations are designed to handle robot charging, staging, dispatch, and maintenance without the time and cost associated with building a larger operations facility. Serve says the model could make it easier to enter high-demand neighborhoods more quickly.
The company’s ambitions now extend beyond delivering dinner. Serve acquired Diligent Robotics in 2026 and is rolling out Moxi 2.0, an updated hospital robot. Serve says the new model has 10 times more onboard computing power, can process its surroundings up to 15 times faster, and can operate for up to 18 hours. The robots are being introduced at health systems including Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Providence Saint John’s Health Center and Endeavor Health Edward Hospital.
Serve also unveiled Beacon, a cellular countertop device intended to alert restaurant employees when a robot arrives for an order, and Characters, an advertising product that turns branded delivery robots into conversational AI personalities. Its first Character with Grubhub is Chomp, a hamburger-themed robot being used for promotional experiences.
With Uber Eats volume falling short of expectations, Grubhub and DoorDash now represent more than new logos on Serve’s partner list. They are part of a larger test of whether Serve can keep thousands of autonomous robots moving often enough to build a sustainable delivery business while restaurants and delivery apps increasingly experiment with robots, drones, and other alternatives to traditional couriers.
