The robotics division of Uber-owned on-demand delivery company, Postmates X, is seeking investors to become a separate company.
The startup is being referred to as Serve Robotics, in recognition of the yellow and black autonomous pavement delivery bots that were developed and piloted by Postmates X.
The delivery bot Serve is expected to become the centrepiece of the new startup, which revealed its first Serve model in 2018, followed by a second-generation bot featuring a lidar sensor in the summer of 2019.
Harnessing its own delivery data, the company developed a simulation to design Serve, which helped to determine battery life and the size of the cargo hold.
Under a deal that is currently being shopped to investors, Uber would retain a 25% ownership stake in Serve Robotics and maintain a commercial agreement with the startup. Serve Robotics would receive its IP and assets in exchange.
