Waymo, Google's self-driving car subsidiary, is teaming up with DoorDash, the largest food delivery platform in the United States, to deploy autonomous vehicles for food and grocery delivery. Waymo also plans to enter the European market next year and roll out a robotaxi service in London.
Google and DoorDash said in a joint statement on the 16th (local time) that they will launch food and grocery delivery services using autonomous vehicles in the Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona starting at the end of this year.
The service will start with "DashMart" deliveries for convenience store, grocery, and retail items, and will later expand the participating stores and items.
Users can receive their orders via a Waymo vehicle by selecting "autonomous delivery" when paying in the DoorDash app. When the vehicle arrives, they open the trunk through the app and retrieve the items themselves.
Nicole Gable, head of business development and partnerships at Waymo, said, "Through our collaboration with DoorDash, customers can conveniently receive what they want—whether groceries or a quick snack—contact-free."
DoorDash noted that "this collaboration could expand beyond Phoenix to other cities where Waymo operates its service."
Bloomberg said, "The DoorDash partnership will help Waymo increase vehicle utilization and improve profitability."
Meanwhile, Waymo also announced plans to expand beyond the United States into the European market. The company plans to begin robotaxi operations in London starting next year and is preparing the service in partnership with Moove, a local fleet operator. Waymo added that it is in discussions with London transport authorities regarding robotaxi permits.