Starship Charts Expansion Plans Post Capitalization

Details on off-campus operations

At a time when many, if not most, delivery robotics startups are actively hunting for fresh capital, Starship turned heads earlier this week with the announcement that it had closed on a fresh $90 million in new venture capital. We checked in with the San Francisco and Tallinn, Estonia-based company to get additional details on how it’ll put the new money to work; but first, all the details on the funding.

$230M in Total Funding

Since its founding in 2014, Starship has raised over $230 million in venture capital. With the company’s robots having driven over 11 million miles to make six million deliveries, existing backers were eager to re-invest in the round co-led by Plural and Iconical.

Plural, based out of Estonia and London, just raised a $430 million fund in January; Iconical is backed by Janus Friis, who is also one of Starship’s co-founders. There’s certainly some hometown (or home continent) pride at play here; Plural Partner Taavet Hinrikus noted:

“Starship is the global leader in autonomous technology, built in Europe. For the past 10 years, the team have been working tirelessly to build the most advanced autonomous logistics technology in the world, driving more miles and making more deliveries than any other company, whilst reducing the impact of last-mile and on-demand delivery on the planet. The culmination of this hard work over the past decade and this new funding means Starship is well-positioned for accelerated growth. We’re looking forward to supporting [Starship CEO] Ahti and the team on this journey to becoming one of Europe’s most successful global companies.”

Sustainability First

Starship is quick to note the sustainability of its delivery operations. One starship robot operating at full speed consumes 110 watts of energy. A human walking uses 300 watts; cars use thousands of watts.

Expansion Plans, Off-Campus Operations

OttOmate reached out to Starship for some more details on what comes next; a company spokesperson filled in some important details.

OttOmate: Are there particular markets that Starship is looking to enter next?

Starship: “We have a lot of interest from new territories as they’ve seen the advantages and the warm acceptance of Starship robots in other communities. We do have some new territories in mind but we are not publicly sharing those yet. There is still a lot of room for expansion in our existing markets so that will also remain a strong focus.”

O: Is Starship considering using the funds to accelerate off-campus deployment in the U.S.?

S: “The campus business has been very successful for us so that is our main focus in the US. In some cases, we have expanded to nearby neighborhoods and that will also be an option when it makes sense but that is determined on a case-by-case basis.”

O: Any details on AI or DaaS?

S: “Our Delivery-as-a-Service (DaaS) business model allows businesses to integrate Starship into their delivery infrastructure. In this model, orders are placed through our partner’s app rather than the Starship app. When companies have multiple delivery options, this creates a more seamless experience for customers. Our current DaaS clients include Grubhub, S-Group and Bolt. Based on the success of this model and the demand,  we are actively talking with potential new partners.”

O: Can you share the campus-adjacent neighborhoods where Starship currently operates?

S: “We service the neighborhoods adjacent to BGSU and Purdue and service off-campus merchants.”

That last point is particularly interesting, as outside of Europe, the company is broadly thought of as operating on campus. But evidently the mean streets of Bowling Green, Ohio and West Lafayette, Indiana have already embraced the robot-friendly future.