Car manufacturer Daimler has led a $17.2m seed round yesterday for Starship Technologies, the UK-headquartered operator of an autonomous vehicle-based delivery service.
Venture capital firms Shasta Ventures, Matrix Partners, ZX Ventures, Morpheus Ventures, Grishin Robotics, Playfair Capital and Hof Capital also took part in the round.
Founded in Estonia in 2014, Starship operates a delivery service that uses small unmanned vehicles to send packages over a two-to-three mile radius in between 15 and 30 minutes. The service has been responsible for deliveries in 59 cities across 16 countries since it was launched in late 2015.
Starship has also instituted pilot partnership schemes with businesses such as food ordering platform Just Eat, postal service Swiss Post and retailer Metro Post.
The company formed a partnership with Daimler subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Vans in September 2016 to develop a system called Robovan that will involve Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans travelling between neighbourhoods to drop off and collect delivery robots.
Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said yesterday: “Starship Technologies and Mercedes-Benz Vans share a strong vision: We both strive to fundamentally change the way we think about the delivery on the last mile.
“Together, we will make that vision come true and show the potential of robotic delivery devices in a combined holistic transportation system. Starship’s unique technology fits perfectly with our vans.”
The seed capital will support the formation of more pilot initiatives as Starship looks to enter new markets.
– Photo courtesy of Starship Technologies