Company
Starship Technologies
Autonomous delivery vehicle company founded in 2014 by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla (CEO) and Janus Friis.
- Founded
- 2014
- HQ
- San Francisco, CA
- Status
- private
Models
2
Deployments
6
Overview
Autonomous delivery vehicle company founded in 2014 by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla (CEO) and Janus Friis. Starship Technologies developed the world's first autonomous sidewalk delivery robot, completing over 7 million autonomous deliveries. Raised 0M Series C in October 2025, bringing total funding to 80M+. 99% autonomous robots deployed for Uber Eats and campus delivery. Originally founded in Estonia, now HQ in San Francisco.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 6 deployments on file
- Active incidents
- 2 incidents on file
DEPLOY Intelligence
Market intelligence for physical AI
Analyst-grade signals, competitive tracking, and investment context across the global physical AI landscape. Launching 2026.
Key facts
Robots
L4 autonomous sidewalk delivery robots (~2-mile radius)
Primary markets
University campuses, grocery retailers, delivery apps, industrial sites
Geography
US and Europe
Navigation
Radar, cameras, sensors + machine learning
HQ
San Francisco, CA (founded 2014; Skype co-founders' lineage)
CEO
Ahti Heinla
Co-founder
Janus Friis (Skype co-founder)
Series C
0M (October 2025)
Total funding
80M+
Deliveries
7M+ autonomous deliveries completed
Partners
Uber Eats, university campuses
Hero image candidate
upload.wikimedia.org (source: Wikimedia Commons, license: CC BY 4.0)
Data & sources
Press releases
7
Web sources
5
12 sources backing this record.View all →
Models (2)
View all models →Current platform
Starship Delivery Robot
Starship Technologies' delivery robot is a six-wheeled autonomous sidewalk robot (with a bogie system to climb curbs) that carries up to ~9-10 kg (about three grocery bags), travels around 4 mph, and runs up to ~18 hours per charge; it has completed millions of commercial deliveries across university campuses and towns.
Current platform
Starship Bot
Starship Bot is the six-wheeled autonomous sidewalk delivery robot of Starship Technologies, founded in 2014 by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla, who is also chief executive, and Janus Friis, with headquarters in San Francisco and engineering hubs in Tallinn, Estonia and Helsinki, Finland. The robot carries an insulated cargo compartment and navigates sidewalks at low speed using multi-sensor fusion of cameras, radar, ultrasonics, and GPS, operating as an operator-supervised Level 4 system: it drives autonomously with remote human oversight and takeover available rather than being driverless, a distinction the registry preserves against Starship's own marketing of Level 4 autonomy without active human supervision. Starship runs a captive operator-supervised service model, operating its own fleet and selling the delivery backbone to apps, retailers, and campuses rather than selling robots to third parties, integrating with platforms such as Uber Eats, Just Eat, Bolt, Foodora, Grubhub, and Wolt. As of Starship's own April 2026 disclosure it had passed ten million cumulative autonomous deliveries with more than three thousand robots across more than three hundred service areas in eight countries: the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and the United States, with more than sixty-five US university campuses as its anchor segment; Denmark, sometimes listed in priors, is not among them. It remains privately held, having closed a fifty-million-dollar Series C led by Plural in October 2025 that brought cumulative funding above two hundred eighty million dollars, with no valuation disclosed by the company.
Relationships
Current leadership (3)
- Alastair Westgarth CEOIR-verified
- Ahti Heinla Co-founder & CTOsecondary-verified
- Ahti Heinla Co-founder & CEOsecondary-verified
Founders (2)
- Ahti Heinlacofounderfounded 2014-01-01
- Janus Friiscofounderfounded 2014-01-01
Former / Previously (2)
- Janus Friis Co-founder (non-operational)secondary-verified
- Allan Martinson COO (2014-2018, former)secondary-verified
Safety record
2 incidents on record (1 moderate, 1 minor). Most recent: Feb 2024.
Most recent: Feb 2024
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Incidents affecting Starship Technologies (2)
- Starship Technologies delivery robot reportedly struck a parked car and left the scene, Helsinki (2025)2024-02-15 · Property damage
Includes incidents linked directly to this company, to its models, or to deployments of its models or under its operation. Retracted incidents are excluded from this view but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Operated deployments (6)
- Starship BotArizona State University (Tempe)
- Starship BotUNC Charlotte
- Starship BotUniversity of Illinois Chicago
- Starship BotWichita State University
- Starship BotBowling Green State University
- Starship BotUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
Operator customers (1)
- Starship Technologies6 deployments
Recent coverage
Starship Technologies in third-party press
Peer companies
- Amazon4 models
- Avride2 models
- Coco Robotics2 models
- Daxbot2 models
- Kiwibot2 models
- Serve Robotics2 models
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- aggregator_estimate
- Lifecycle stage
- growth
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Partnerships (4)
- Starship x Just Eat with Just Eatdeployment
- Uber Eats x Starship Technologies UK with Uberdeployment
- Starship x Grubhub with Grubhubdeployment
- Starship x Co-op with Co-opdeployment
Funding rounds (1)
- Series C2025-10-15
$50M
Investors: Plural (lead)
Sources (12)
- Starship Technologies: Company website · https://www.starship.xyz
- Wikipedia: Starship Technologies · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Technologies
- https://www.starship.xyz/press/autonomous-delivery-moves-into-the-mainstream-as-starship-technologies-passes-10-million-deliveries/
- https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-technologies-raises-50m-series-c/
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251015387447/en/Starship-Technologies-Raises-$50M-Series-C-to-Scale-Autonomous-Delivery-Across-U.S.-Cities
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251120298420/en/Starship-Technologies-and-Uber-Eats-Launch-Autonomous-Delivery-Partnership
- https://www.starship.xyz/press/starship-technologies-and-uber-eats-launch-autonomous-delivery-partnership/
- https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/starship-technologies-raises-50m-robot-delivery-race-revs
- https://www.pymnts.com/partnerships/2025/uber-eats-and-starship-to-launch-autonomous-sidewalk-robot-delivery-in-december/
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/grubhub-and-starship-technologies-partner-to-bring-robot-delivery-services-to-college-campuses-301645087.html
- https://about.grubhub.com/news/grubhub-and-starship-technologies-partner-to-bring-robot-delivery-services-to-college-campuses/
- https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/story/2025/04/starship-technologies-surpasses-8-million-deliveries/24613/
Common questions
- What is Starship Technologies?
- Autonomous delivery vehicle company founded in 2014 by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla (CEO) and Janus Friis. Starship Technologies developed the world's first autonomous sidewalk delivery robot, completing over 7 million autonomous deliveries. Raised 0M Series C in October 2025, bringing total funding to 80M+. 99% autonomous robots deployed for Uber Eats and campus delivery. Originally founded in Estonia, now HQ in San Francisco.
- What does Starship Technologies make?
- Starship Technologies has 2 robot models on the DEPLOY registry: Starship Delivery Robot, Starship Bot (Starship Technologies builds physical robots).
- Is Starship Technologies publicly traded?
- No. Starship Technologies is privately held and not publicly traded, per the DEPLOY registry.
- Who competes with Starship Technologies?
- On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Starship Technologies building in the same form factors include Amazon, Avride, Coco Robotics, Daxbot.
- Where is Starship Technologies headquartered?
- Starship Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.
- Where does Starship Technologies operate robots?
- Starship Technologies operates 6 verified deployments, including at Arizona State University (Tempe), UNC Charlotte, University of Illinois Chicago.
- Is Starship Technologies a top robotics company?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, Starship Technologies ranks in roughly the top 9% of companies tracked by the registry.
- Are there any incidents involving Starship Technologies?
- 2 active incidents involving Starship Technologies are on the DEPLOY registry. Each is a sourced, append-only record; retracted incidents are suppressed from this view.
- Is Starship Technologies safe?
- Starship Technologies has 2 active incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. 2 incidents on record (1 moderate, 1 minor). Most recent: Feb 2024. Retracted incidents are excluded from this count.
Methodology: Verified · 12 sources (7 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-07
Verification posture
Verified
High confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-07
Sources by quality tier
- 7
- primary-company-ir
- Company IR disclosure
- 4
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
- 1
- knowledge-base
- Knowledge base
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Starship Technologies.Peer companies
- Amazon4 models
- Avride2 models
- Coco Robotics2 models
- Daxbot2 models
- Kiwibot2 models
- Serve Robotics2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Starship Technologies from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Starship Technologies: 10 million autonomous deliveries completed
Starship robots are 99% autonomous, Level 4. Completed over 10 million deliveries, millions more than any competitor.
Autonomous Mobile Robots: The Future of Logistics
VivaTech: AMRs transforming logistics from warehouse automation to last-mile delivery. Technology overview.
Starship Technologies ending delivery robot service at US college campuses
Starship Technologies ending autonomous delivery robot service at Winona State University and all other US college campuses.
The backlash over delivery robots
BBC: Growing backlash over delivery robots appearing on pavements in US cities. Accessibility and safety concerns mounting.
Starship Technologies exits college and university segment to focus on grocery delivery
Starship Technologies announced it is leaving the college and university delivery segment to focus on grocery delivery, moving over 1,200 robots from campuses to grocery retailers…
Starship Technologies passes 10 million autonomous deliveries
Starship Technologies surpassed 10 million autonomous deliveries and 22 million kilometers driven, marking a major milestone for sidewalk delivery robots. The company also…
Starship Technologies and Just Eat announce ground-breaking partnership
Starship Technologies and Just Eat announced a major partnership expanding robot delivery. Starship claims to have made more than two million deliveries.
Starship Technologies Raises 0M Series C to Scale Autonomous Delivery
Starship Technologies raised 0M Series C, bringing total funding to 80M+. Founded by Skype co-founders, completed 7M+ autonomous deliveries.
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/starship.md
- RSS feed: /companies/starship/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/9fa14702-0c5f-4c07-a300-79665ed32dd9
- Revision history: /companies/starship/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Amazon4 models
- Avride2 models
- Coco Robotics2 models
- Daxbot2 models
- Kiwibot2 models
- Serve Robotics2 models
Video
Starship robots are now delivering food, drinks, parcels and other items on corporate and academic campuses around the world. This new service allows staff the
Our so cute food delivery robots in Milton Keynes #miltonkeynes #starship #fooddelivery
Get ready for some dramatic music and experience a day in the life of a busy Starship Robot as it autonomously delivers throughout the city of Milton Keynes fro
In November 2016, a Starship Delivery Robot made its first delivery in Redwood City, California. The local bakery, Cafe La Tartine used a Starship Robot to deli
When @IShowSpeed gets hungry on his Estonian tour, we deliver! Full video: https://www.youtube.com/live/38qoEClIc5Q?si=UUnaHodbZZROkyPj Special thanks to our
The Starship Enterprise, Starship Troopers now Starship Technologies, the company launched by the co-founders of Skype, is hosting trials of its self-driving de
Tänä vuonna robottimme uhmasivat ensimmäistä kertaa Suomen talvea. Kun lumi hälvenee ja päivät pitenevät, muistelemme, miten robotit hoitivat tuhansia toimituks
Starship Technologies has partnered with Postmates to start making robotic deliveries in Silicon Valley. » Subscribe to CNBC: http://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC About
This video version includes audio descriptions. Find the version without here: https://youtu.be/eNHsehDSWzk We often get asked about how Starship robots navi
This video version includes audio descriptions. To view the version without, click: https://youtu.be/v01mlpLKag4 Find out how Starship robots are designed with
A future where businesses use AI and robotics widely is fast approaching. Starship Technologies is bringing that future closer with its delivery robots that are
DEPLOY Intelligence Score
58.7/ 100
6-month trend
Analysis
Safety profile within acceptable range for category. Funded with institutional backing on record.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Safety Record
Funding Health
Market Presence
Deployment Scale
IP Activity
Hiring Signal
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
Last computed: Jul 8, 2026
Intelligence layer