Uber Eats Pens 10-Year Partnership with Nuro for Autonomous Food Deliveries

Uber Eats has signed a decade-long deal with Nuro, an autonomous vehicle company, to offer driverless deliveries in the US.

Uber Eats customers will be able to order meals and goods and have them delivered by Nuro's zero-occupant autonomous delivery vehicles. The vehicles run on public roads and are built specifically to carry food and goods. 

To be clear, these vehicles are not cars. They only carry goods and are slightly smaller than regular cars. 

The partnership will swing into action later this year with deliveries in Houston, TX and Mountain View, CA before further expanding across San Francisco's Bay Area. 

"Nuro and Uber share a vision in which technology can make everyday life just a little bit easier," said Noah Zych, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery at Uber.

"Nuro's distinctive autonomous vehicles are a great match for the Uber platform, and this partnership will bring a compelling combination of innovation alongside the convenience, affordability and reliability our customers and merchants have come to expect."

"Our partnership with Uber underscores Nuro's track record of partnering with the world's leading brands to make autonomous delivery a seamless experience," said Cosimo Leipold, Head of Partnerships at Nuro.

"With our unique autonomous delivery vehicles and Uber's phenomenal scale and reach, we can expand food delivery options from your favourite local mom-and-pop restaurants all the way to nationwide chains."

Nuro was the first company to achieve fully autonomous vehicle operations in three states (Arizona, California, and Texas), and also the first to obtain an autonomous deployment permit from the California DMV. It remains one of only three companies to be granted the permit to date.