Starship rolls out robots at the University of Idaho

The new fleet of Starship delivery robots are ready to roll. | Source: Starship Technologies

Starship Technologies’ sidewalk delivery robots began deliveries today at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. The robots are delivering from several Idaho Eats locations, like Qdoba, True Burger, Einstein Bros. Bagels and Cravings by Joe.

Students and employees at the university are able to order from the Starship Food Delivery app and get their food delivered anywhere on campus. The robot is able to deliver most orders within minutes, and users can track its progress on an interactive map. When the robot arrives, the user meets it and unlocks it with the app.

Starship’s robots are able to carry the equivalent to about three bags of groceries, or about 20 lbs, and weigh less than 100 lbs. The zero-emission robots make more than 100,000 road crossings every day and have traveled over three million miles.

“We’re excited to bring this service to a wide array of our dining options,” Cami McClure, assistant vice president for Auxiliary Services, said. “The university community is eager for on-campus dining delivery and now, with Starship Technologies, we are able to offer a fun, fast and friendly way to deliver.”

The University of Idaho is the first university in the state to implement sidewalk delivery robots, and they’re the 16th university to work with Starship. Starship is rolling out a fleet of 15 robots on the campus.

In January 2022, Starship started delivering at SMU in Dallas, where they have 16 robots deployed. The company also delivers at Arizona State University, Purdue University, University of Nevada, Reno and Bowling Green State University, among others.

Earlier this year, the company announced that it raised more than $56 million (50 million euro) through a quasi-equity facility agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union (EU).

Starship has also recently launched grocery delivery services in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company expanded its partnership with The Save Mart Companies for the exclusive launch of an on-demand grocery delivery service at its Lucky California flagship store in Pleasanton, California.