California-based autonomous delivery robotics company Serve Robotics has expanded its Uber Eats delivery operations in Los Angeles.

The expansion into Koreatown is part of a long-term plan to broaden its geographic reach in Los Angeles and across the USA.

Additionally, in preparation for the scale up of its fleet for future expansions, Serve has expanded its lidar supply agreement with Ouster (ouster.com) to equip its robots with upgraded sensors to improve performance.

“Tens of thousands of households in Los Angeles have experienced the convenience of autonomous delivery, with many hundreds of restaurants on Uber Eats serving their customers in a more sustainable and reliable way,” said Serve CEO Ali Kashani. “We’re excited to bring Serve to more customers in Los Angeles and beyond, as we scale our fleet and work to deploy up to 2000 robots in 2025.”

Last month, Serve began onboarding local merchants in partnership with Uber Eats. Koreatown residents ordering now on Uber Eats (www.ubereats.com) may have their orders fulfilled by a Serve delivery robot.

Serve selected Koreatown for its dense and vibrant commercial hub, growing residential community, and robust sidewalk infrastructure to support robotic delivery. Serve’s coverage expansion follows ongoing collaboration with Los Angeles city government and local stakeholders.

As part of the expanded lidar supply agreement, Serve Robotics will continue to outfit its fleet with digital lidar, using Ouster’s REV7 sensors for better performance. Lidar plays a critical role in Serve’s autonomy stack, enabling its robots to perceive their environment, identify their precise location, and safely navigate alongside pedestrians and other sidewalk users. Serve anticipates the sensors will improve the safety, speed and cost effectiveness of its fleet.

“Ouster’s lidar has been integral to our success in commercialising level-four autonomy at scale,” said Serve Robotics’ chief hardware officer Euan Abraham. “We’ve been impressed by the reliability and performance of lidars over the past several years and are excited to sign an extended agreement that provides us with cutting-edge technology for our next-generation robot.”

Backed by Uber and Nvidia, Serve Robotics (www.serverobotics.com) develops AI-powered, low-emissions sidewalk delivery robots that endeavour to make delivery sustainable and economical. Spun off from Uber in 2021 as an independent company, Serve has completed tens of thousands of deliveries for partners such as Uber Eats and 7-Eleven. Serve has scalable multi-year contracts, including a signed agreement to deploy up to 2000 delivery robots on the Uber Eats platform across multiple US markets.