Uber Eats Partners with Starship for UK Robot Deliveries

Uber Eats announced a partnership with robotics company Starship Technologies on Tuesday to introduce autonomous delivery robots in the United Kingdom, beginning in December in the cities of Leeds and Sheffield. The initiative marks Uber's latest push into sidewalk-based automation for food deliveries, allowing customers to opt for robot couriers from select merchants via the Uber Eats app.

The robots, small six-wheeled devices equipped with cameras, radars, and artificial intelligence, will handle short-range orders up to two miles, completing drop-offs in under 30 minutes. Customers can rate the service through the app, though the bots cannot accept tips. Uber Eats plans to expand the service to additional European markets in 2026 and select U.S. cities in 2027, aiming to integrate the technology into a hybrid model that combines robotic and human deliveries.

"This partnership builds the infrastructure that will define the next generation of urban logistics," said Ahti Heinla, co-founder of Starship Technologies and one of the original developers of Skype. Starship, which operates the world's largest fleet of autonomous delivery robots with more than 2,700 units across over...