Food delivery giant Grubhub has expanded its partnership with self-driving technology startup Avride to launch a pilot program for robot food deliveries in Jersey City, New Jersey, the companies announced on Thursday. The initiative marks the first major test of Avride’s autonomous delivery robots in a densely populated urban environment, following successful rollouts on U.S. college campuses earlier this year.
Under the program, Jersey City residents can now order through the Grubhub app, operated by Wonder Group, and select the Avride robot delivery option if they are within the coverage zone. Customers can order from Wonder’s Jersey City hub, which offers over 20 restaurant brands and allows users to mix items from multiple kitchens into a single order — a key differentiator for Grubhub’s multi-restaurant delivery model.
The autonomous robots will be tested for their ability to navigate crowded city streets, unpredictable traffic, and varied weather conditions, as Grubhub explores how automation can cut delivery times and labor costs. If the pilot succeeds, both companies plan to expand robot delivery services to other major U.S. markets in 2025.
Grubhub and Avride first teamed up in January to deploy 120 delivery robots at Ohio State University, where the service became one of the most-used student delivery options. The expansion to Jersey City represents the next phase of that collaboration — and a key step toward scaling Avride’s AI-driven mobility technology beyond college campuses.
The announcement comes a day after Avride revealed it had secured up to $375 million in financing from Uber Technologies and Nebius Group, signaling strong investor confidence in the company’s autonomous delivery and robotaxi ambitions.
