Robotics company expands autonomous food delivery services to San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Santa Monica-based tech company on Wednesday announced the launch of its autonomous food delivery service to the South Bay community.
Coco Robotics, which already offers robotic food delivery services in Los Angeles, Chicago, Jersey City and Miami, partnered with Uber Eats to provide service to San Jose.
"San Jose is exactly the kind of city Coco was built for," Zach Rash, the company’s co-founder and CEO said in a press release. "It has hundreds of restaurants, a world-class food scene, and a downtown full of tech and finance professionals who want great food delivered quickly and reliably. These are busy people who value their time, and Coco gives them a faster, cleaner way to get what they want without leaving their office. It also helps reduce traffic and take pressure of parking in dense urban areas. We’re excited to bring that experience to San Jose."
What they're saying:
The company is launching its program in the downtown area, and some business owners are welcoming the service.
"We’ve been serving a high volume of takeout orders in downtown San Jose, and demand keeps growing," Thuy Vu, owner of Thai Chili Express in Downtown San Jose said in a press release. "Parking is always a challenge in this area, especially during peak hours, so anything that helps us get orders out faster is a big win. We’re excited for our guests to have another convenient food delivery option through Coco, and we can see how this could help us operate more efficiently during our busiest times. It’s also really cool to see this kind of technology showing up in our neighborhood and becoming part of how we serve guests every day."
Coco Robotics uses autonomous robots, real-world operations data, and advanced artificial intelligence to deliver food. The company was founded in 2020 and has completed over 500,000 zero-emission deliveries across the United States and Europe, according to a press release announcing the expansion to San Jose.
"San Jose has always embraced technology, and welcoming Coco Robotics to our downtown reflects that spirit," San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a press release. " What I’m most encouraged by is that autonomous deliveries in our city will help restaurants and merchants fulfill more orders efficiently and safely, helping drive stronger business performance and greater customer reach. This innovation supports more sustainable and resilient businesses at the heart of our community. We look forward to the rollout of initial operations and to building a long-term program that enables Coco to grow and scale in San Jose."