Hello, tech enthusiasts! Exciting times are upon us as Avride’s ingenious sidewalk delivery robots prepare to make their debut in the bustling streets of Tokyo.

Starting this week, these autonomous bots will be working with Rakuten, the e-commerce giant, to deliver both restaurant orders and groceries across central Tokyo. This move signifies Avride’s latest venture into the vibrant Northeast Asian market.

Avride, an Austin-based startup, operates under the Nebius Group, a Netherlands-based company that evolved from the Yandex spinout. Despite selling off its Russian businesses last year for $5.2 billion, Avride continues to forge ahead in developing state-of-the-art autonomous vehicle technologies, including their innovative sidewalk bots.

The company already boasts a modest delivery operation in Seoul and has successfully been testing its vehicles in various locations. Now, after completing the necessary certification process in Japan, they are ready to launch commercial operations.

Initially, the rollout will feature just ten delivery robots, with plans to expand as the operation gains momentum. Avride is also ramping up its presence in the U.S.; for instance, they have partnered with Grubhub and deployed around 100 delivery bots at Ohio State University.

Furthermore, Avride’s strategic alliances with major players like Uber have paved the way for food deliveries powered by their robots in key cities such as Austin, Dallas, and Jersey City. As they prepare for even broader adoption, there’s much to anticipate from Avride’s adventure into the future of delivery!