Waymo may also drive for DoorDash in Phoenix

Waymo has announced a brand new partnership with DoorDash that can make the corporate’s self-driving automobiles a supply choice 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 automobiles one thing to do once they’re not transporting human cargo.

To start out, Waymo says that deliveries shall be restricted to issues you possibly can order by means of DashMart, DoorDash’s storefront for comfort and grocery shops. Finally, although, deliveries will “embrace extra native Phoenix retailers and a greater diversity of choices.”

To be able to check out a Waymo supply, you may have to put your order by means 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 may then need to bodily go away your property 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 would possibly flip some individuals off, because it makes that choice not possible.

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 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 by means of third-party companions like Uber. Its partnerships with Uber Eats and DoorDash look like 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 may very well be a sign that Waymo is eager about pursuing deliveries on a smaller scale.