# Starship Bot

Manufacturer: [Starship Technologies](/companies/starship)  
Category: sidewalk

## Summary

Starship Technologies (founded 2014 by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis) makes the Starship Bot, a six-wheeled insulated-cargo autonomous sidewalk delivery robot and the captive-service archetype of the sidewalk-delivery cohort. It is operator-supervised Level 4: it runs autonomously on sidewalks with remote human oversight and takeover available, not driverless. Starship operates its own fleet and integrates with delivery apps (Uber Eats, Just Eat, Bolt, Foodora, Grubhub, Wolt) plus grocers and retailers; it does not sell robots to third parties. Operational scale (April 2026, Starship-direct): more than 10 million cumulative autonomous deliveries, 3,000-plus robots, 300-plus service areas across 8 countries, 65-plus US university campuses, and 22 million-plus autonomous kilometers. Funding ran through a Series C led by Plural with more than $280 million cumulative; the valuation is not disclosed, so DEPLOY cap-flags aggregator-quoted valuation figures. As a captive B2B delivery service, there is no consumer price.

## Top line

> Starship Bot is internal use only (not for retail), no capability claims are on file, 6 verified deployments are on file, and 2 incidents are on record.

## Readiness

- **Availability** (internal-only): Internal use only (not for retail).
- **Price honesty** (no-price): No price points on file for Starship Bot.
- **Capability honesty** (no-claims): No reviewed capability claims on file for Starship Bot.
- **Real-world use** (commercial): Maturity: commercial. 6 verified deployments in the registry.
- **Safety record** (incidents-on-file): 2 incidents on record across 6 verified deployments.

## What it claims to do

_No reviewed capability claims on file._

## Price

_No reviewed price points on file._

## Real-world use

- [Wichita State University](/deployments/starship-bot-wichita-state), first seen 2023-08-01
- [UNC Charlotte](/deployments/starship-bot-unc-charlotte), first seen 2023-01-01
- [University of Illinois Chicago](/deployments/starship-bot-uic), first seen 2023-01-01
- [Arizona State University (Tempe)](/deployments/starship-bot-asu-tempe), first seen 2022-01-01
- [Bowling Green State University](/deployments/starship-bot-bowling-green-state), first seen 2020-01-01
- [University of Wisconsin-Madison](/deployments/starship-bot-uw-madison), first seen 2019-11-01

## Safety record

- [Starship Technologies delivery robot reportedly struck a parked car and left the scene, Helsinki (2025)](/incidents/starship-helsinki-parked-car-2025), 2024-02-15
- [Starship Technologies delivery robot reportedly struck and injured a pedestrian at Arizona State University (Sept 2023)](/incidents/starship-asu-pedestrian-injury-2023-09), 2023-09-01

## Privacy

_No privacy practices disclosed or on file for Starship Bot._

## Specs

- **notes**: [{"label":"Founders / heritage","value":"Founded 2014 by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla (co-founder + CEO) and Janus Friis. HQ San Francisco; engineering hubs Tallinn (Estonia) and Helsinki (Finland)."},{"label":"Business model","value":"Captive operator-supervised delivery SERVICE: sells the autonomous delivery backbone to apps/retailers/campuses, not robots to third parties."},{"label":"Footprint (verified, Apr 2026)","value":"8 countries: United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, United States. NOTE: Denmark is NOT among them (corrects a common prior); Czech Republic + Switzerland are the additions. Anchor segment = university campuses (65+ US); also grocery/retail, delivery apps, industrial sites."},{"label":"Financials (verified)","value":"$50M Series C closed Oct 15 2025, led by Plural (+ Karma.vc, Latitude, Coefficient Capital, SmartCap, Skaala); cumulative funding >$280M (Starship-direct). NO valuation disclosed by the company - cap-flag any aggregator valuation. '12,000+ robots by 2027' is a company projection, not a current figure."},{"label":"Cap-flag (autonomy framing)","value":"Starship markets 'Level 4 autonomy without active human supervision,' which reads as driverless; in practice operations are operator-supervised L4 with remote oversight/takeover available (~99% autonomous historically). Frame as operator-supervised, not no-humans. ~4 mph + exact lidar/radar specs are legacy specs, not re-cited in the Apr 2026 release."}]
- **specs**: Starship Bot: six-wheeled insulated-cargo autonomous sidewalk delivery robot at low speed (~4 mph, legacy spec) with multi-sensor fusion (cameras + radar + ultrasonics + GPS; lidar on some configs). Operator-supervised Level 4 on sidewalks: runs autonomously with remote human oversight/takeover available. Operational scale (Apr 2026, Starship-direct): 10M+ cumulative autonomous deliveries, 3,000+ robots, 300+ service areas across 8 countries, 65+ US university campuses, 22M+ autonomous km, ~125,000 road crossings/day. Captive operator-supervised SERVICE model: Starship operates its own fleet and integrates with delivery apps (Uber Eats, Just Eat, Bolt, Foodora, Grubhub, Wolt) plus grocers/retailers; does NOT sell robots to third parties.
- **formFactor**: sidewalk (six-wheeled operator-supervised L4 sidewalk delivery robot; captive delivery-service model)

## What's under the hood

_No brain on file for Starship Bot._

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Starship Bot actually available for purchase?

Not available to consumers. In internal use by Starship Technologies.

_Source: [Starship Technologies — Company website](https://www.starship.xyz)._

### What does the Starship Bot cost?

Not announced.

### Where is the Starship Bot being used?

Starship Bot is in use at: Wichita State University (2023-08-01), UNC Charlotte (2023-01-01), University of Illinois Chicago (2023-01-01), Arizona State University (Tempe) (2022-01-01), and Bowling Green State University (2020-01-01), plus 1 more.

_Source: [Starship launches robot delivery at Wichita State University](https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-technologies-launches-robot-delivery-service-at-wichita-state-university/)._

### Is the Starship Bot safe?

Incidents on record: 2 (1 property_damage, 1 injury). See Starship Technologies delivery robot reportedly struck a parked car and left the scene, Helsinki (2025).

_Source: [Starship Technologies delivery robot reportedly struck a parked car and left the scene, Helsinki (2025)](/incidents/starship-helsinki-parked-car-2025)._

### How does the Starship Bot handle privacy?

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for Starship Bot.

### Who makes the Starship Bot?

Starship Bot is made by Starship Technologies, based in San Francisco, CA / Tallinn, Estonia.

_Source: [Starship Technologies — Company website](https://www.starship.xyz)._

## Manufacturer

- [Starship Technologies (https://www.starship.xyz)](https://www.starship.xyz)

## Compared to

- [Cartken Courier](/consumer/models/cartken-courier)

## Sources

1. [Starship passes 10 million autonomous deliveries; 3,000+ robots, 300+ locations, 8 countries, 65+ US campuses (Apr 28 2026)](https://www.starship.xyz/press/autonomous-delivery-moves-into-the-mainstream-as-starship-technologies-passes-10-million-deliveries/)
2. [Starship raises $50M Series C, led by Plural; >$280M cumulative; 2,700+ robots (Oct 15 2025)](https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-technologies-raises-50m-series-c/)
3. [Skype co-founders (Ahti Heinla + Janus Friis) launch Starship (founders + Skype heritage)](https://www.starship.xyz/press/skype-co-founders-launch-a-company-with-a-mission-to-make-local-delivery-free/)
4. [Starship Technologies Raises $50M Series C to Scale Autonomous Delivery (wire mirror)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251015387447/en/Starship-Technologies-Raises-$50M-Series-C-to-Scale-Autonomous-Delivery-Across-U.S.-Cities)
5. [Starship Technologies obtains Series C funding (independent corroboration)](https://www.therobotreport.com/starship-technologies-obtains-series-c-funding-for-autonomous-deliveries/)
6. [Starship about: last-mile delivery service; SF HQ, Tallinn + Helsinki engineering; captive fleet](https://www.starship.xyz/about/)
7. [Starship Technologies — Company website](https://www.starship.xyz)
8. [Wikipedia — Starship Technologies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Technologies)
9. [Starship Technologies and Uber Eats launch autonomous delivery partnership (Nov 20, 2025)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251120298420/en/Starship-Technologies-and-Uber-Eats-Launch-Autonomous-Delivery-Partnership)
10. [Starship Technologies and Uber Eats launch autonomous delivery partnership (Nov 2025)](https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-technologies-and-uber-eats-launch-autonomous-delivery-partnership/)
11. [Starship Technologies raises $50M as robot delivery race revs up (Oct 2025)](https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/starship-technologies-raises-50m-robot-delivery-race-revs)
12. [Uber Eats and Starship to launch autonomous sidewalk robot delivery in December (Nov 2025)](https://www.pymnts.com/partnerships/2025/uber-eats-and-starship-to-launch-autonomous-sidewalk-robot-delivery-in-december/)
13. [Grubhub and Starship Technologies partner to bring robot delivery to college campuses (Oct 2022)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/grubhub-and-starship-technologies-partner-to-bring-robot-delivery-services-to-college-campuses-301645087.html)
14. [Grubhub and Starship Technologies partner on campus robot delivery (Oct 2022)](https://about.grubhub.com/news/grubhub-and-starship-technologies-partner-to-bring-robot-delivery-services-to-college-campuses/)
15. [Starship Technologies surpasses 8 million autonomous deliveries (Apr 2025)](https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/story/2025/04/starship-technologies-surpasses-8-million-deliveries/24613/)
16. [Starship launches robot delivery at Wichita State University](https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-technologies-launches-robot-delivery-service-at-wichita-state-university/) · 2024-11-12
17. [Robotic food delivery starts at Wichita State (university official; $2.49)](https://www.wichita.edu/about/wsunews/news/2023/08-aug/food_delivery_7.php)
18. [Wichita State brings food-delivery robots to campus](https://www.ksn.com/news/local/wichita-state-brings-food-delivery-robots-to-campus/)
19. [Robotic food delivery starts at Wichita State](https://www.kwch.com/2023/08/14/robotic-food-delivery-starts-wichita-state/)
20. [Food-delivery robots introduced at Wichita State](https://thesunflower.com/73118/news/food-delivery-robots-introduced-able-to-deliver-campus-eats/)
21. [Starship launches robot delivery at UNC Charlotte (30-robot fleet, Mar 2023)](https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-technologies-launches-robot-delivery-service-at-the-university-of-north-carolina-at-charlotte/)
22. [Meet the food-delivery robots (UNC Charlotte official)](https://inside.charlotte.edu/news-features/2023-03-08/meet-food-delivery-robots/)
23. [Robots delivering meals on UNC Charlotte campus](https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2023/05/09/robots-making-moves-on-unc-charlotte-campus-)
24. [How to use the Starship food-delivery robots on campus](https://www.ninertimes.com/arts_and_culture/how-to-use-the-starship-food-delivery-robots-on-campus/article_ae4cccae-f414-11ed-ade5-23bb287a05d6.html)
25. [Starship robot delivery live at UNC Charlotte](https://retailtechinnovationhub.com/home/2023/3/10/starship-technologies-robot-delivery-service-goes-live-at-the-university-of-north-carolina-at-charlotte)
26. [Starship launches delivery at multiple campuses incl. UIC (25 robots, fall 2021)](https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-robots-launch-delivery-service-at-multiple-new-college-campuses-this-fall-semester/)
27. [Chicago City Council committee approves expanded two-year UIC robot-delivery pilot](https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2022/9/15/23355598/robot-food-delivery-pilot-program-uic-university-illinois-chicago-city-council-committee-starship)
28. [UIC robot food delivery feature (20 robots, ~100 deliveries/week)](https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/10/20/23390842/robot-food-delivery-uic-university-illinois-chicago-starship-doordash-grubhub-ubereats)
29. [Starship brings food-delivery robots to four more campuses incl. UIC](https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/10/starship-technologies-is-bringing-food-delivery-robots-to-four-more-us-college-campuses/)
30. [Starship campus list incl. Arizona State University](https://www.ottomate.news/p/starship-robot-delivery-now-available) · 2021-11-12
31. [AI Incident Database — Starship robot at ASU (incident context confirms campus operation)](https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/813/) · 2024-09-19
32. [Starship launches robot delivery at Arizona State University](https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-technologies-launches-robot-delivery-service-at-arizona-state-university-and-james-madison-university/)
33. [Starship + Aramark launch contactless robot food delivery at ASU (40-robot fleet)](https://news.asu.edu/20200904-asu-news-starship-aramark-launch-contactless-robot-food-delivery)
34. [Delivery robots roll out on ASU Tempe campus](https://www.abc15.com/news/business/san-francisco-tech-firm-rolls-out-delivery-robots-on-asu-tempe-campus)
35. [Robots bring contactless food delivery to ASU campus](https://www.statepress.com/article/2020/09/spcommunity-starship-robot-partnership-brings-contactless-delivery)
36. [Starship hits one million autonomous deliveries milestone (ASU among drivers)](https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-technologies-raises-an-additional-17m-in-funding-as-it-hits-one-million-autonomous-deliveries-milestone/)
37. [Starship at BGSU + city of Bowling Green expansion](https://www.foodservicedirector.com/colleges-universities/starship-technologies-delivery-robots-bring-meals-to-bowling-green-state-university-campus-and-larger-community) · 2020-01-01
38. [BGSU + Starship launch robot delivery (30 robots, Chartwells, first in Ohio, Mar 2020)](https://www.starship.xyz/press/bowling-green-state-university-and-starship-technologies-launch-robot-delivery-service/)
39. [First university in Ohio to offer autonomous delivery (BGSU official)](https://www.bgsu.edu/news/2020/03/first-university-in-ohio-to-offer-autonomous-delivery.html)
40. [BGSU rolls out Starship food-delivery robots](https://www.sent-trib.com/2022/03/16/bgsu-rolls-out-robots-starship-food-delivery-service-is-first-in-ohio/)
41. [BGSU official says Starships are here to stay (longevity)](https://bgfalconmedia.com/154245/news/despite-online-rumors-university-says-starships-are-here-to-stay/)
42. [Starship at UW-Madison (biggest US campus client)](https://www.starship.xyz/press/university-of-wisconsin-madisons-university-housing-launches-new-starship-robot-delivery-service/) · 2024-11-13
43. [35 robots delivering daily at UW-Madison](https://www.channel3000.com/news/education/food-delivery-robots-on-uw-madison-campus-busier-than-ever/article_a5182e1a-7fa2-51fa-bd73-89582d1aab3e.html) · 2024-08-13
44. [Starship to deploy 30 delivery robots on UW-Madison campus](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/starship-to-deploy-30-delivery-robots-on-uw-madison-campus)
45. [UW-Madison rolls out food-delivery robots](https://www.highereddive.com/news/uw-madison-the-latest-campus-to-roll-out-food-delivery-robots/566661/)
46. [UW-Madison launching autonomous delivery robot service](https://www.auvsi.org/industry-news/university-wisconsin-madison-launching-autonomous-delivery-robot-service)
47. [UW welcomes new robot delivery service to campus](https://captimes.com/news/local/education/university/uw-welcomes-new-robot-overlords-err-delivery-service-to-campus/article_78f98105-7d0a-5465-a788-69b0fef071f2.html)

_Canonical: https://deploy.report/models/starship-bot_