Cartken Courier

Cartken (founded 2019 by ex-Google 'Bookbot' engineers; CEO Christian Bersch) makes the Cartken Courier (Model C), a six-wheeled sidewalk delivery bot (about 44 pounds and 1.5 cubic feet of payload, 3 to 6 mph), and is the hardware-sale-pivot archetype of the cohort, editorially distinct from Starship and Serve: where they operate their own fleets, Cartken pivoted toward selling vehicles to operator partners. Its partners include Mitsubishi, Uber Eats, and Melco, and its lineup adds a larger industrial Hauler (2025; 660 pounds / 300 kg) and an indoor Runner. It is operator-supervised, not driverless. It has raised about $22.5 million (468 Capital, Magna International, Shell Ventures, Mitsubishi Electric). Cap-flag: the roughly 100 Hauler vehicles cited in the Melco deployment is an aggregator-quoted figure pending direct Cartken or Melco disclosure. As a B2B hardware sale to operator partners, there is no consumer price.

Readiness

Cartken Courier is internal use only (not for retail), the 1 capability claim on file is all autonomous with verified, 2 verified deployments are on file, and no incidents are on record.

Availability

internal-only

Internal use only (not for retail).

see evidence →

Price honesty

no-price

No price points on file for Cartken Courier.

see evidence →

Capability honesty

autonomous

1 reviewed claim: autonomous, verified.

see evidence →

Real-world use

commercial

Maturity: commercial. 2 verified deployments in the registry.

see evidence →

Safety record

no-incidents

No incidents on record. 2 verified deployments on file.

What it claims to do

• Delivers packagesautonomous· verifiedevidence ↗

Price

No reviewed price points on file.

Real-world use

• Miami operated by Cartken2023-01-01
• New York operated by Cartken2022-08-01

Safety record

No incidents on record. 2 verified deployments on file.

Privacy

Privacy practices disclosed by Cartken for Cartken Courier, with verification status.

• Bystander recordingverified

  Cartken robots are equipped with video cameras that film their surroundings during sidewalk operations; passers-by are masked in real-time so they are no longer identifiable in the livestream, but people and license plates may be recognizable on evidentiary recordings triggered by incidents such as damage or theft.

  Source: https://www.cartken.com/privacy-policy

• Cloud uploadverified

  The robot's video livestream is not recorded and is live-only; the livestream with redacted passers-by may be forwarded to a service provider in Mexico under EU Standard Contractual Clauses; evidentiary recordings of up to 10 minutes are stored only when triggered by an incident, and system improvement videos are anonymized before recipients receive them.

  Source: https://www.cartken.com/privacy-policy

• Data retentionverified

  Notification details are deleted after delivery; delivery address and order details are anonymized within two weeks after completion; evidentiary recordings of up to 10 minutes are stored only in the event of an incident and deleted when no longer needed; system improvement recordings are stored as long as needed for technical purposes.

  Source: https://www.cartken.com/privacy-policy

• Third-party sharingverified

  Cartken forwards the livestream with redacted passers-by to a service provider in Mexico for teleoperation; video footage may be forwarded to parent company Cartken Inc. in the USA for evidentiary purposes; recipients of system improvement videos only receive anonymized recordings with no personal reference.

  Source: https://www.cartken.com/privacy-policy

• Location trackingverified

  The robot's real-time position is displayed to the customer on a tracking page during active delivery; the robot's position is linked to the delivery order only for the duration of the active delivery, and after anonymization route and position history may be retained for system improvement.

  Source: https://www.cartken.com/privacy-policy

• Data deletion controlverified

  Users can request deletion of personal information and Cartken will delete it within seven business days; notification details are automatically deleted after delivery, and address and order details are anonymized within two weeks after completion.

  Source: https://www.cartken.com/privacy-policy

Specs

notes

• Verified: Cartken (Oakland CA; founded 2019 by ex-Google Bookbot engineers) ran campus/food sidewalk delivery (U. Arizona 41-robot fleet via Grubhub; Uber Eats Miami + Tokyo; Rakuten Japan). In July 2025 it PIVOTED its growth focus from last-mile food delivery to INDUSTRIAL robotics; food delivery continues but is no longer expanding. maturity=commercial.
• Captive-vs-sale (corrects sector premise): NOT a classic captive-service operator. Legacy campus/food business was RaaS; the forward business is industrial robot SALES: Melco (a Mitsubishi Electric Group co.) ordered nearly 100 Cartken Hauler robots (Jun 25 2025, multi-million-dollar, outright sale) for Japanese factories/warehouses. First industrial customer ZF Lifetec (Germany, 2023).
• Regulatory / model: Sidewalk PDD-class for the Courier (campus + public sidewalks under state PDD laws). The Model reflects the current sidewalk+industrial direction; legacy food-delivery deployments retain their historical commercial state.
• Claimed but NOT verified (cap-flag): The '>50,000 orders at U. Arizona 22-23' figure is company/BusinessWire PR (Grubhub corroborates the program, not the count); exact current fleet size + total lifetime deliveries; whether the ~100 Haulers are DEPLOYED (it is an ORDER with deployment 'within this fiscal year'); whether Uber Eats Miami is still live in 2026.

specs

Cartken Courier (Model C): six-wheeled sidewalk delivery bot, ~44 lb / ~1.5 cu ft payload, 3-6 mph. Cartken Hauler: larger industrial model (2025), 660 lb / 300 kg payload. Cartken Runner: indoor. Founded 2019 (ex-Google 'Bookbot' engineers; CEO Christian Bersch); ~$22.5M raised (468 Capital, Magna International, Shell Ventures, Mitsubishi Electric).

runtime

16 h

max_speed

7.2 km/h

formFactor

sidewalk (six-wheeled autonomous sidewalk delivery robot; + larger industrial variant)

payload_kg

80

What's under the hood

No brain on file for Cartken Courier.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Cartken Courier actually available for purchase?

Not available to consumers. In internal use by Cartken.Source: Why Cartken pivoted from last-mile delivery to industrial robots (Jul 2025; ex-Google founders)

What does the Cartken Courier cost?

Not announced.

Does the Cartken Courier really delivers packages?

Yes, verified. Cartken Courier performs this autonomously.Sources: Cartken official website; Model C autonomous sidewalk delivery robot; commercial operations in Cincinnati OH, Oklahoma City OK, Miami FL; partnered with Grubhub, Sodexo, and other food delivery platforms for last-mile campus and urban delivery, Cartken raises $6.5M for autonomous delivery robot platform -- TechCrunch; commercial deployment confirmed in Cincinnati, Oklahoma City; uses camera-based Level 4 autonomy for sidewalk navigation with remote monitoring (not active teleoperation)

Where is the Cartken Courier being used?

Cartken Courier is in use at: Miami operated by Cartken (2023-01-01) and New York operated by Cartken (2022-08-01).Source: Physical AI Trends — Cartken deployments

Is the Cartken Courier safe?

No incidents on record across 2 verified deployments.

How does the Cartken Courier handle privacy?

Cartken has disclosed 6 privacy practices for Cartken Courier: bystander recording (Cartken robots are equipped with video cameras that film their surroundings during sidewalk operations; passers-by are masked in real-tim..), cloud upload (The robot's video livestream is not recorded and is live-only; the livestream with redacted passers-by may be forwarded to a service prov..), data retention (Notification details are deleted after delivery; delivery address and order details are anonymized within two weeks after completion; evi..), third-party sharing (Cartken forwards the livestream with redacted passers-by to a service provider in Mexico for teleoperation; video footage may be forwarde..), location tracking (The robot's real-time position is displayed to the customer on a tracking page during active delivery; the robot's position is linked to..), and data deletion control (Users can request deletion of personal information and Cartken will delete it within seven business days; notification details are automa..).Source: https://www.cartken.com/privacy-policy

Who makes the Cartken Courier?

Cartken Courier is made by Cartken, based in Oakland, California, USA.Source: Why Cartken pivoted from last-mile delivery to industrial robots (Jul 2025; ex-Google founders)

Compare side by side

• Cartken Courier vs Coco Botby Coco Robotics · sidewalk

Sources

1. Why Cartken pivoted from last-mile delivery to industrial robots (Jul 2025; ex-Google founders) · https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/20/why-cartken-pivoted-its-focus-from-last-mile-delivery-to-industrial-robots/ ↗
2. Melco (Mitsubishi Electric Group) orders ~100 Cartken Hauler robots (Jun 25 2025; sale) · https://www.cartken.com/press-release/a-mitsubishi-electric-group-company-expands-partnership-with-cartken-and-orders-nearly-100-autonomous-cartken-hauler-robots-for-industrial-applications ↗
3. U. Arizona uses Grubhub + Cartken for robot delivery (41-robot campus fleet) · https://onsite.grubhub.com/blog/how-the-university-of-arizona-uses-grubhub-and-cartken-for-robot-delivery/ ↗
4. Cartken ~$22.5M aggregate funding (Magna, Shell Ventures, Mitsubishi Electric) · https://www.cartken.com/press-release/cartken-announces-22-5m-in-aggregate-funding-to-advance-ai-based-technology-stack-enabling-autonomous-delivery-robots ↗
5. Cartken · https://www.cartken.com/ ↗
6. Cartken raises $6.5M for autonomous delivery robot platform -- TechCrunch; commercial deployment confirmed in Cincinnati, Oklahoma City; uses camera-based Level 4 autonomy for sidewalk navigation with remote monitoring (not active teleoperation) · https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/10/cartken-raises-6-5-million-for-its-autonomous-delivery-robot-platform/ ↗ · 2023-08-10
7. Physical AI Trends — Cartken deployments · https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/insights/physical-ai-trends-changing-the-world ↗
8. DoorDash: Robot Delivery Comes to New York City with Cartken · https://doordash.news/consumer/doordash-robot-delivery-new-york/ ↗
9. The Verge: DoorDash brings delivery robots to NYC with Cartken, 2022 · https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/23/23316850/doordash-delivery-robot-new-york-city-cartken ↗
10. https://www.cartken.com/privacy-policy ↗