Uber Exits Entire Stake in Serve Robotics as Commercial Alliance Unravels

Uber has sold off its entire stake in Serve Robotics, the autonomous sidewalk delivery robot company that spun out of the ride-hailing giant over five years ago, according to a regulatory filing first reported by Bloomberg.

The final selloff came as a surprise to Serve, which learned about it only after the official disclosure, according to a source familiar with the events. Uber's exit had been brewing for at least a year, with filings showing the company reduced its stake in 2025.

The divestiture comes as the two once-tight companies have started to diverge on the business side. Serve originated as Postmates X, the robotics division of Postmates that Uber acquired in 2020 for $2.65 billion, spinning out as an independent company a year later.

Uber had backed Serve and struck a partnership in 2022, expanding it in May 2023 to deploy up to 2,000 sidewalk bots onto Uber's app across multiple U.S. markets.

Ali Kashani, Serve Robotics co-founder and CEO, stated:

"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."

Kashani noted on the company's August 6 earnings call that the companies have "differing views" about the operating model to scale their shared autonomous fleet, including fleet coordination and merchant integration. He also highlighted that Serve's deliveries with another food delivery partner grew nearly 50% in a single quarter during the same period.

As a result, Serve did not expect to renew the partnership agreement with Uber when it expires in early 2027. Serve Robotics is one of more than 30 autonomous vehicle technology companies that Uber has partnered with or invested in over recent years.