Uber surprised robotics company Serve by selling its entire stake | TechCrunch

Uber has completely divested its equity ownership stake in Serve Robotics, the sidewalk delivery robot developer that originally spun out of the ride-hailing giant several years ago.

Although regulatory filings over the past year indicated that Uber had been gradually reducing its financial position in the startup, the final liquidation of its remaining holdings reportedly caught the robotics company entirely by surprise. This sudden investment exit marks a sharp turn from their previously close corporate relationship, which originally began after Uber acquired Postmates and subsequently spun its specialized robotics division off into an independent entity with significant financial backing.

The divestiture aligns with growing operational friction and diverging business strategies between the two companies on how to manage autonomous fleets. Serve's leadership recently reported a decline in delivery volumes on Uber's platform, attributing the drop to lower-than-expected robot utilization and differing philosophies regarding fleet coordination and merchant integration. Because of these persistent disagreements, Serve has indicated that it does not intend to renew its commercial delivery partnership with Uber when the current contract concludes in early 2027. Instead, the robotics startup plans to shift its focus toward other digital food delivery partners where it has experienced substantial short-term growth.