Cruise and DoorDash to Test Food Delivery Using Self-Driving Cars in San Francisco
Cruise and DoorDash partner to test food and grocery delivery using self-driving vehicles in San Francisco.
Cruise and DoorDash team up to pilot food and grocery delivery using self-driving vehicles in San Francisco. Testing begins in early 2019, allowing select DoorDash customers to receive restaurant orders directly from Cruise autonomous cars. The partnership also explores grocery fulfillment for specific DoorDash-partnered stores.
Cruise CEO Dan Ammann calls delivery a significant opportunity as the company prepares to commercialize its autonomous vehicle technology. Meanwhile, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu sees self-driving cars playing a major role in the future of the delivery industry. This collaboration takes place shortly after Ammann steps into the CEO role while co-founder Kyle Vogt moves to the position of CTO.
This delivery pilot adds an interesting dimension to Cruise's plans for a self-driving ride-hailing service in 2019. Instead of just transporting people, the program provides a practical way to refine the autonomous technology and study how the vehicles interact with pedestrians and customers at curbside.