Waymo will even drive for DoorDash in Phoenix

Waymo has announced a brand new partnership with DoorDash that can make the corporate’s self-driving vehicles a supply possibility for customers in Phoenix, Arizona. You possibly can already hail a ride in Waymo’s Arizona service space, however this new partnership will give the corporate’s vehicles one thing to do after they’re not transporting human cargo.

To begin, Waymo says that deliveries might be restricted to issues you possibly can order by DashMart, DoorDash’s storefront for comfort and grocery shops. Ultimately, although, deliveries will “embrace extra native Phoenix retailers and a greater variety of choices.”

In an effort to check out a Waymo supply, you will have to position your order by DoorDash and “choose in to autonomous supply” throughout checkout. As soon as Waymo’s automobile arrives, very like DoorDash’s Dot robot, you will then should bodily depart your property and gather your order from the automobile’s trunk to finish the supply. A part of the comfort (and complication) of DoorDash is getting what you ordered dropped at your door. A Waymo supply would possibly flip some folks off, because it makes that possibility inconceivable.

In fact, this is not the primary time Waymo has delivered meals in Phoenix. In 2024 the corporate partnered with Uber Eats for the same program, with related limitations round how deliveries have been accomplished and the place meals might be ordered from. Waymo runs its personal robotaxi service in Arizona, Waymo One, however relying on the area, it is also provided rides by third-party companions like Uber. Its partnerships with Uber Eats and DoorDash seem to be variations on the identical concept.

In 2020, Waymo was exploring utilizing self-driving long-haul trucks for deliveries. The corporate abandoned those plans in 2023 to prioritize robotaxis and the Waymo Driver software program, however these exams with DoorDash and Uber Eats might be a sign that Waymo is all in favour of pursuing deliveries on a smaller scale.