Uber, Nvidia-backed delivery robot startup Serve Robotics to go public

Serve Robotics, the autonomous sidewalk transportation robot startup that spun retired of Uber’s acquisition of Postmates, is going nationalist via a reverse merger with a blank cheque company.

The reverse merger with Patricia Acquisition Corp was completed this month, according to regulatory filings. Ahead of the merger, Serve raised $30 cardinal successful a circular led by existing investors Uber, Nvidia and Wavemaker Partners. New investors Mark Tompkins and Republic Deal Room besides participated. The startup-soon-to-be-public-company has raised a full of $56 million.

Upon the closing of the merger, Uber held a 16.2% stake and Nvidia an 11% involvement successful Serve, according to regulatory filings. Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s vice president of transportation and caput of its Americas region, has joined Serve’s board.

Serve Robotics started its beingness arsenic Postmates X, the robotics part of on-demand transportation institution Postmates. The autonomous sidewalk robots started delivering to Postmates customers successful aggregate Los Angeles neighborhoods successful 2018. It started a commercialized work successful 2020.

Uber acquired Postmates successful precocious 2020 for $2.65 billion. Three months later, Postmates X spun retired arsenic an autarkic company called Serve Robotics. The caller sanction was taken from the autonomous sidewalk transportation bot that was developed and piloted by Postmates.

Ali Kashani, who led Postmates X, is co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics.

Kashani told TechCrunch that helium was ne'er successful a unreserved to instrumentality the autonomous transportation robot institution public. However, helium said helium sees going nationalist the faster and much businesslike mode to capitalize.

Serendipity whitethorn person besides played a role.

Last March, the institution was successful the midst of raising different circular of backing from task superior firms erstwhile concerns astir the solvency of Silicon Valley Bank caused 1 of the largest slope runs successful history. Serve, which had 100% of its funds successful SVB (all of which were recovered) was abruptly thrust into new, uncertain territory.

The incidental caused Kashani to instrumentality a person look astatine the company’s attack to raising capital. “We needed a broader scope of investors,” helium said. It made nary consciousness to instrumentality with 1 benignant of investor.

The blank-check merger accidental emerged conscionable days later.

Serve said it plans to usage the further financing to participate caller markets successful the U.S. and beforehand its technology. The institution besides plans to standard up its existing 100-robot transportation fleet. Serve has a commercialized statement with Uber to deploy up to 2,000 robots with Uber Eats.

Kashani contends that the institution is good positioned to standard and noted that transportation measurement has grown much than 30% month-over-month connected mean for the past 18 months.

“This happening is working– and what it requires is fuel,” helium said.