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 choice for customers in Phoenix, Arizona. You may 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 begin, Waymo says that deliveries will probably be restricted to issues you’ll be able to order by way of DashMart, DoorDash’s storefront for comfort and grocery shops. Ultimately, although, deliveries will “embrace extra native Phoenix retailers and a greater diversity of choices.”

With a view to check out a Waymo supply, you will have to position your order by way of DoorDash and “decide in to autonomous supply” throughout checkout. As soon as Waymo’s automobile arrives, very similar to DoorDash’s Dot robot, you will then need to bodily go away your private home and acquire 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 may flip some folks off, because it makes that choice 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 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 supplied rides by way of third-party companions like Uber. Its partnerships with Uber Eats and DoorDash look like 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 checks with DoorDash and Uber Eats might be a sign that Waymo is desirous about pursuing deliveries on a smaller scale.