Waymo may 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’ll be able to already hail a ride in Waymo’s Arizona service space, however this new partnership will give the corporate’s vehicles one thing to do once they’re not transporting human cargo.

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

With a view to check out a Waymo supply, you may have to position your order via DoorDash and “decide in to autonomous supply” throughout checkout. As soon as Waymo’s automotive arrives, very like DoorDash’s Dot robot, you may then must bodily go away your house and accumulate your order from the automotive’s trunk to finish the supply. A part of the comfort (and complication) of DoorDash is getting what you ordered delivered to your door. A Waymo supply would possibly flip some individuals off, because it makes that possibility unattainable.

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 comparable limitations round how deliveries have been accomplished and the place meals may very well be ordered from. Waymo runs its personal robotaxi service in Arizona, Waymo One, however relying on the area, it is also provided rides via third-party companions like Uber. Its partnerships with Uber Eats and DoorDash seem to be variations on the identical thought.

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 may very well be a sign that Waymo is keen on pursuing deliveries on a smaller scale.