Consumers want food delivery faster and more frequently than ever, but the economics still do not work. With leading services raising prices from their initial venture capital-subsidized rates and yet still typically failing to make a profit, with customers growing frustrated with rising costs, and with restaurants struggling to afford these services’ commissions, something needs to give. Now, robotics companies are stepping in, promising to solve the problem by cutting labor costs with automation.
“The demand is rising — people want things faster, and they want it cheaper,” Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics, told PYMNTS in an interview. “It’s just not sustainable. The way we are doing the deliveries today, relying on one human being having to move one burrito to its final destination … It’s just not going to scale. It’s not good for the cities. It’s not good for the environment, and it’s not good for the restaurants and merchants. I think it’s a perfect time for the robots to step in and help with this problem.”
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