This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) is stepping into Europe’s delivery battlefield with a shift that could reshape its long-term logistics play. The company is rolling out sidewalk-robot deliveries for the first time on the continent through a new partnership with Starship Technologies, starting in December across parts of Leeds and Sheffield. Orders from select Uber Eats merchants could arrive inside compact six-wheeled robots capable of covering up to two miles in under 30 minutes. It’s a compact launch with a hugeger strategic undertone: analysts expect Uber’s delivery arm to account for around 47% of gross bookings in 2025, and management appears to be positioning the business for a hybrid future where drivers and autonomous systems possibly operate side by side.
Uber has already built a web of more than a dozen robotics partnerships, running autonomous deliveries for thousands of merchants across nine cities in the US and Japan. But Starship brings something different to the table. The San Francisco-based group operates what it describes as the world’s largest autonomous delivery fleet, with more than 2,700 robots deployed across over 270 locations. It recently raised $50 million in Series C funding and passed the 9-million-delivery mark, while also working with rivals such as Bolt in Europe and Grubhub on US college camputilizes. For Uber, tapping into Starship’s scale views like an opportunity to test its hybrid model more aggressively in Europe’s crowded delivery market.
That market is heating up quick. DoorDash has been pushing deeper into the region following its acquisition of Wolt in 2022 and Deliveroo in October, and it has been piloting its own robot-delivery partnerships with Coco Robotics in Helsinki before extfinishing tests to Los Angeles and Chicago. Uber’s new alliance could be a way to accelerate its push across more international markets, with plans to gradually expand service zones and introduce additional European regions in 2026, followed by the US in 2027. In a competitive landscape where every marginal efficiency could matter, this partnership may signal the next phase of Uber’s long-term delivery evolution.
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