Technology

Grubhub, Kiwibot team up to deliver more food to college students

The latest robot delivery partnership will debut at the University of North Dakota. Grubhub also has agreements to use robots from Starship and Cartken.
A Kiwibot robot zooms around Loyola Marymount University. / Photo courtesy of Sodexo
A Kiwibot robot zooms around Loyola Marymount University. / Photo courtesy of Sodexo

Delivery giant Grubhub is doubling down on robots. 

The company has teamed up with robotics brand Kiwibot to roll out robot delivery at even more of the campuses it serves. 

The collaboration will debut at the University of North Dakota, with plans for more schools to follow.

"When it comes to the campus dining experience, we see robot delivery as a complementary offering to traditional delivery since the robots can navigate hard-to-reach areas on campuses," Adam Herbert, senior director of campus partnerships at Grubhub, said in a news release. "Our campus partners have been asking for us to help bring this delivery option to their school, and we are excited to partner with Kiwibot to expand this innovative and convenient type of delivery to more colleges across the country."

Grubhub in October teamed up with robotics company Starship Technologies to expand robot food delivery to additional schools.

At that time, Starship and Grubhub jointly provided delivery at five campuses, including the University of Kentucky and Wayne State University, but planned to add more campuses later in the year.

Grubhub partnered with another robotics company, Cartken, in the spring, piloting delivery at Ohio State University.

Grubhub has a presence at over 250 colleges and universities and previously provided robot delivery on U.S. campuses with Russian company Yandex, but that partnership ended following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Kiwibot’s machines can move at the same speed as a walking person and can transport up to 25 pounds, according to the release.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners