By Rajwa Quasim
Uber has sold its entire stake in Serve Robotics, the delivery company that began within Uber five years ago before spinning out as an independent business. The sale was disclosed in a regulatory filing first reported by Bloomberg, which also shows that Uber had already been trimming its position in 2025.
The disinvestment move came as a surprise to Serve Robotics, which reported that it had only learned of it when Uber filings were disclosed. According to the filings, Uber sold its entire stake during the second quarter. Uber and Serve collaborated to bring autonomous sidewalk delivery robots to customers through Uber’s platform. But the companies had different opinions over how to operate and expand their shared robotic delivery fleet.
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Serve traces back to Postmates X, the robotics arm of the on-demand startup that Uber bought in 2020 for $2.65 billion. The unit spun out as its own company, Serve Robotics, in the following year. Uber remained an investor in the company, establishing a formal partnership with the company in 2022. It expanded in 2023 where companies announced plans to deploy as many as 2000 Serve robots.
During the Q2 earnings call, Serve co-founder and CEO Ali Kashani said, “From the first quarter of 2022 through the first quarter of this year, delivery volume through Uber grew for 17 consecutive quarters. In Q2, that trend reversed for the first time. This was caused by lower-than-expected robot utilization.”
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The deterioration in partnership became more visible as Serve expanded its work with other delivery companies. Kashani said that the deliveries through another food delivery partner increased by 50% in a single quarter during the same period. The agreement between Serve and Uber will expire in 2027 and, as per the media reports, will not be renewed.
The disinvestment by Uber is part of a capital reallocation that began in 2025. The company now invests in robotaxis with Wayve in London, making it harder to justify minority stakes in a sidewalk robot supplier.
It is also unclear what becomes of Serve robots that are currently operating on Uber Eats once the agreement expires next year.
Uber has partnered or invested in more than 30 autonomous vehicle tech companies in recent years.