Wonder expands Grubhub robotic delivery beyond college campuses
The robotic delivery offering from Grubhub is graduating college, and its parent company Wonder is playing a key role.
Grubhub is building on an existing partnership with autonomous delivery robot provider Avride to launch a robot delivery pilot for customers ordering from Wonder's Jersey City location. Wonder, the delivery-focused restaurant company founded by former Walmart executive Marc Lore, acquired Gruhub from Netherlands-based global online delivery conglomerate JustEatTakeaway.com for $650 million in November 2024.
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During the pilot, customers can place orders from Wonder's Jersey City location through the Grubhub platform as usual. If an eligible delivery address is within a set range of the restaurant, they will have the option to choose delivery via an Avride robot.
Wonder's multi-restaurant model lets customers choose from more than 20 different restaurant concepts, including Alanza, Tejas Barbecue, and Streetbird by Marcus Samuelsson, with every dish made to order in a Wonder storefront and delivered fast and free.
This initiative marks the first time Grubhub has offered autonomous delivery in its marketplace outside of college campuses and the first time Wonder is bringing robot delivery to its customers.
Following the pilot, Grubhub plans to implement any learnings and expand autonomous delivery to additional markets nationwide.
"This pilot represents the next step in our mission to provide diners with fast, reliable, and delightful delivery experiences," said P.J. Poykayil, senior VP of customer delivery operations at Wonder and Grubhub. "By combining Grubhub's marketplace, Wonder's culinary innovation, and Avride's advanced robotics, we're delivering the future of convenience."
The pilot will feature Avride's most advanced delivery robots to date, guided by AI-enabled autonomous driving technology. Equipped with a four-wheel chassis capable of near-instant 180-degree turns and high maneuverability, the robots are designed to operate on varied terrain and in inclement weather conditions.
"We're proud to be Grubhub's trusted partner as they bring robot delivery beyond campuses for the very first time,” said Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Avride. "For Avride this marks an important step in expanding robotic delivery. Going beyond traditional restaurant or grocery delivery."
Grubhub and Avride have already completed more than 100,000 robot deliveries across U.S. campuses including The Ohio State University.
Part of Wonder Group, Grubhub features more than 415,000 retailers in more than 4,000 U.S. cities. Avride is a U.S.-based autonomous vehicle startup headquartered in Austin, Texas.
