Both NVIDIA and UBER have invested in this robot startup, optimistic about the future of AI automated food delivery

Nvidia and Uber are partnering to invest in Serve Robotics, a robotics startup that integrates AI and automation systems into the logistics and delivery industry. Delivery drivers may start getting nervous as Serve Robotics' robot couriers can not only walk on the road for food delivery, but also go to dedicated transfer boxes to retrieve orders and then transport them in the air with drones.

Serve Robotics raised $30 million in funding in 2023, with a total fundraising of $56 million. The new round of funding was led by Nvidia and Uber. Both Nvidia and Uber are developing robot autonomous driving and artificial intelligence platforms, which can be a perfect fit for Serve Robotics in terms of hardware and software technical cooperation.

Serve Robotics' investment partners also include convenience store 7-Eleven and German-owned Delivery Hero delivery platform.

After the Uber acquisition of Postmates, Serve, a subsidiary of Postmates, was spun off and became an independent company in 2021. Uber is now the largest shareholder of Serve, owning 12% of the shares. Nvidia, on the other hand, invested in Serve starting from 2022 and currently holds 8% of the shares. Uber and Nvidia together hold over 20% of the outstanding shares, indicating their confidence in Serve's products and prospects, and their willingness to invest in this startup. Retail investors may consider observing and considering this company.

Serve food delivery robots meet cost efficiency

Existing Uber Eats and DoorDash delivery services rely heavily on manpower, cars, and electric motorcycles. The combination of robots and drones may be a better solution.

Serve indicates that the hardware and software for developing artificial intelligence and automation are much cheaper than before, so robots have become a more economical choice. Serve also estimates that if the usage rate of robots continues to increase and the business grows accordingly, the cost of each delivery will eventually be less than $1.

Serve robots can travel on sidewalks in designated areas without human control. Since 2022, Serve's robots have delivered over 50,000 orders to more than 400 restaurants in Los Angeles. Serve claims that these takeaway delivery robots have a reliability of 99.94%, higher than human drivers.

Analysts' views on the future development of Serve

Serve's revenue for the third quarter of this year was $221,555, a 254% increase compared to the same quarter in 2023. However, if compared to the revenue of $468,375 in the second quarter of this year, it has decreased by more than half. Analysts believe that the reason for the decline in revenue is the loss of consulting fees for the technology licensing contract with Magna International. Serve provided AI and robotics technology resources to Magna for the development of their own robots. Magna provided Serve with consulting fees, but now this licensing agreement has expired, resulting in a significant decline in Serve's revenue.

Analysts believe that Serve's cash flow may be insufficient

With the disappearance of consulting and technology licensing revenue, Serve currently only has revenue from food delivery robots. However, this part of the business is still in the early stages, and analysts believe that Serve's cash flow may be insufficient. If Serve only has $50.9 million in funding, at the current rate of cash burn, it will be depleted within the next 18 months.

Serve's benefits

In the multi-faceted prediction, Serve's Gen3 robot is the most Satoshi-clear and fastest robot to date, due to Nvidia providing Jetson Orin AI robot hardware and software development technology, Gen3 is more efficient than the previous generation of Serve robots. According to the contract signed between Serve and Uber, Serve is committed to deploying 2000 new robot couriers by the end of 2025, which will help Uber expand its business to areas outside of California, including Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas, significantly increasing order business for Uber. Wall Street predicts that with the deployment of 2000 robots, Serve may generate $13.3 million in revenue in 2025, compared to the projected revenue of $1.9 million in 2024, representing a 600% growth.

Even though robotic delivery agents are expected to become a trend within the next three years and may even fully automate and replace human labor, the current software and hardware development remains the most costly part for companies like Serve, a robotic startup. From my observation, if Serve plans to continue with further financing, it should also track whether they have the potential to expand their business, such as producing more advanced robots and continuously utilizing Nvidia's advanced technology, to maintain Serve's leading position in the market for AI automation robots.

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