Robotic delivery company Starship Technologies – whose fleet of autonomous bots deliver Co-op groceries to customers in several UK towns – has raised $50m in a funding round.
The capital raised will be used to expand its services and robot fleet in the UK and globally, the company said.
However, Starship is calling for a “clearer regulatory landscape” in the UK for its personal delivery devices (PDDs), which operate in “a grey area”.
“Laws such as the Highways Act 1835 – which does not allow carriages to operate on pavements – creates uncertainty that could hinder investment,” it said.
Though “there are emerging laws around autonomous passenger and freight vehicles” there is less clear legislation covering “low-weight, low-risk and low-speed devices that operate more like humans than cars”.
The company is calling for a “small change in the law around pavement use” for the technology, which is “not currently defined in UK law”.
A report by Prysm Global, commissioned by Starship, estimates that expansion of the total fleet of PDDs UK-wide could see a £125m uplift in grocery spending, with underserved “delivery deserts” seeing the greatest uplift.
Their local manufacture and maintenance would require 555 new high-skilled jobs by 2035, and almost £11m in cumulative wages, the report states.
The company – founded in 2014 by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis – said it was “committed to manufacturing a state-of-the-art new fleet in the UK if the government acts to clarify regulation”. Starship estimated it would need more than 10,000 new robots to meet demand.
“Delivery robotics is the next wave of urban logistics, shaping a once-in-a-generation shift in how goods move through towns and cities,” said Heinla, CEO of Starship Technologies. “We own European urban markets, we own US campuses. Following this latest funding round, we want to replicate this proven success in American cities, and scale the UK.
“We would love to make our robots in the UK. We’ll help with the growth mission, but we need to see the right regulatory approach and a desire to move quickly. Starship has been making deliveries in the UK since 2018, there has been no change during that time. It took Finland 18 months to implement regulation that has allowed a nationwide expansion. It would be a real missed opportunity if our sector was held back by laws from the 1800s.”
The company’s (mostly) self-driving robots have made more than nine million deliveries of takeaway orders and groceries, for partners including Co-op, GrubHub in the US, Delivery Hero’s Foodora in Sweden, DoorDash’s Wolt in Finland and Bolt in Estonia.
Its global fleet is made up of more than 2,700 robots operating across more than 270 locations – primarily in suburban areas and university campuses –.in seven countries.
The company – which has raised more than $280m in total funding – said it was “committed to manufacturing a state-of-the-art new fleet in the UK if the government acts to clarify regulation”. Starship estimated it would need more than 10,000 new robots to meet demand.
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