Serve Robotics Opens Developer Platform to Give Businesses Direct Access to Its 2,000-Robot Fleet

Opening Fleet Access to Third-Party Developers

Serve Robotics, the autonomous sidewalk delivery company spun out of Postmates in 2021, has launched its new AV Delivery Developer Portal. The open platform allows third-party software engineers, independent businesses, and autonomous AI agents to directly access and dispatch Serve's fleet of 2,000 sidewalk robots across 150 operating neighborhoods, including locations in Los Angeles, Miami, and Dallas.

By offering pay-per-delivery and hourly reservation options through developer APIs, Serve enables local merchants—such as bakeries, florists, and pharmacies—to integrate automated sidewalk delivery into their own websites and checkout systems. This setup allows small businesses to avoid the 15 percent to 30 percent commission fees typically taken by major food delivery platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash.

Maximizing Fleet Utilization Beyond Food Delivery

The release of the developer portal follows Serve's recent announcement that it does not plan to renew its partnership with Uber Eats, reflecting a shift toward building an independent delivery platform. According to Serve CEO Ali Kashani, opening fleet access helps diversify revenue streams and keeps robots active during off-peak hours between lunch and dinner rushes.

"The reality of food delivery platforms is that usually they dominate their markets," Kashani stated. "Food is generally very picky. So you have lunch, you have dinner. But then there are times in between. So again, having that diversification helps."

Kashani described the model as an open marketplace where API requests receive the same priority as enterprise orders. He also challenged traditional last-mile delivery economics, pointing out: "Why does getting something delivered from China cost $1, but from Chinatown cost $10?" By removing human driver expenses and middleman app fees, Serve aims to provide delivery services at a fraction of standard courier costs.

Technical Capabilities and Safety Supervision

In addition to retail and food orders, Serve foresees developer-driven use cases such as intra-office shuttles, repair shops ferrying replacement parts, and peer-to-peer item exchanges on marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace. Under this model, third-party developers supply pickup and dropoff coordinates, while Serve's backend system manages routing, obstacle avoidance, and remote teleoperation supervision.

Serve's robots weigh roughly 50 pounds, resemble autonomous shopping carts, and travel on sidewalks at top speeds of around 6 mph. To prevent hazardous deployments or illicit cargo, access to the platform will remain strictly gated by manual approval from Serve employees. Liability for stolen or damaged goods will be determined by how individual partnerships are priced and insured. Kashani confirmed that Serve has no plans to transition from sidewalk-based units into full-size street delivery vehicles.