Robot delivery service Starship Technologies targets students in $40m raise
Starship Technologies, a US tech firm headed by former Airbnb exec Lex Bayer, has raised $40m (£33.1m) in a series A funding round.
The investment was led by Morpheus Ventures with participation from Shasta Ventures, Matrix Partners, Metaplanet Holdings, TDK Ventures, Qu Ventures and others.
Starship’s autonomous robot delivery fleet operates in cities across the US and UK, delivering packages, groceries and takeaways.
Based in Milton Keynes, chief executive Bayer told City PM that some of the funds will be put towards expanding its reach on British shores to include serving the rising student population.
“We’re deep in discussions with a few different campuses in the UK, some of those will be happening in the next two months so we’re excited about that,” he said in a call.
The company already has partnerships secured with Co-Op, Tesco and Just Eat, with more to follow in the coming months. Its robot fleet has covered thousands of miles in the UK, with successful testing carried out in Greenwich, Southwark and other London boroughs.
“We don’t always have to take the busiest or main streets to get a delivery to happen,” Bayer added. “There’s no limit on the path choices we need to make.”
Now primarily operational in the US, Starship said it has plans to expand to more than 100 university campuses across the pond in the next two years.
The series A round takes Starship’s total amount raised to $85m. It was founded by two Skype co-founders, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, in 2014.
“This new investment will see Starship expand onto more campuses as we head towards a goal of offering our service to over one million students,” said Bayer.
“An entire generation of university students are growing up in a world where they expect to receive a delivery from a robot after a few taps on their smartphone. The reception to our service both on campuses and in neighbourhoods has been phenomenal.”
Main image credit: Starship Technologies