Starship Technologies, the provider of autonomous robot delivery services, has successfully secured a new round of funding to fuel its further development.
With Plural and Iconical leading the way, the funding round has brought in $90 million for the company based in San Francisco. This brings the total funding raised by Starship to $230 million since its establishment in 2014.
Founded by Ahti Heinla in Tallinn, Estonia, along with Danish entrepreneur Janus Friis, known for his involvement in Skype, Starship initially created robots for Mars exploration but redirected its focus to become a prominent player in autonomous robot delivery services. The company now operates in 80 locations worldwide, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, and Finland.
Heinla, in a statement reported by Venture Beat, expressed, “Now we’re ready to take on the world and with ambitions to build a category-dominating company that can change the daily lives of millions of people in thousands of locations worldwide.”
Expansion Plans for Starship Technologies
Starship aims to capitalize on the potential of last-mile delivery, which refers to the final stage in moving a parcel from a transportation hub to its destination.
Last-mile delivery is known to be resource-intensive, both in terms of costs and carbon footprint, especially with the rising trend of online shopping and food delivery. According to Venture Beat, last-mile delivery is projected to more than double by 2030, with carbon emissions in Europe forecasted to hit 5.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2032.
Robot delivery services can play a vital role in this scenario, and Starship aims to lead the market based on its track record of over six million deliveries. Each Starship robot is highly efficient, capable of running for 18 hours on a single charge, equivalent to the energy used for boiling one kettle for a cup of tea per delivery. The robots also feature autonomous wireless charging, further boosting efficiency, and have contributed to a reduction of 1.8 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions since their deployment.
Image: Starship/X
