Yandex robots to deliver food at US colleges with Grubhub

Russian tech giant Yandex and online food delivery venture Grubhub have announced a multi-year partnership pitched at college campuses in the US.

Financial terms of the tie up were not disclosed.

Yandex autonomous delivery robots will join Grubhub’s platform, with the service set to be available at select college campuses this autumn. GrubHub partners with more than 250 college campuses across the US.

"We chose to partner with Grubhub for campus delivery because of its unparalleled reach into college campuses across the United States, as well as the flexibility and strength of their ordering platform,” says Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO at Yandex Self-Driving Group.

“We are delighted to deploy dozens of our rovers, taking the next step in actively commercialising our self-driving technology in different markets across the globe.”

“Together with Yandex, we’re changing the way college students experience food delivery,” adds Brian Madigan, VP of Corporate and Campus Partners at Grubhub.

“We’re excited to offer these cost-effective, scalable and quick food ordering and delivery capabilities to colleges and universities across the country that are looking to adapt to students’ unique dining needs.”

“While college campuses are notoriously difficult for cars to navigate, specifically as it relates to food delivery, Yandex robots easily access parts of campuses that vehicles cannot, effectively removing a major hurdle universities face when implementing new technology.”