DoorDash Inc. customers in the Phoenix area may have their orders delivered by a Waymo autonomous vehicle as part of a new partnership that will help keep the robotaxis busy when there’s a lull in demand from passengers.

Tests of the delivery service have started, with broader commercial operations planned for later this year, DoorDash said Thursday in a statement. Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo cars will begin deliveries from DoorDash-owned DashMart warehouses that act as fulfillment centers for convenience, grocery and retail goods from other brands. DoorDash said it plans to expand the number of participating merchants for autonomous delivery over time.

Partnering with DoorDash will help Waymo keep its fleet in the Phoenix area occupied and avoid deadhead miles — empty trips where the robotaxi isn’t generating revenue. In addition to providing robotaxi trips on its own app and Uber Technologies Inc.’s app, Waymo had a similar arrangement with Uber beginning in 2024 for food deliveries in Phoenix that ended in May. Waymo said last month it will also work with Via Transportation Inc. to offer its rides to increase the capacity of public “microtransit” service in Chandler, Arizona.

Shares of DoorDash were little changed at 12:30 p.m. in New York. Rival Uber fell 2.9%.

The DoorDash-Waymo partnership may expand to more US cities where Waymo currently offers rides, a DoorDash spokesperson said.

Arizona has become a testing ground and launchpad for many autonomous vehicle companies given its relatively friendly regulations on the technology. Last month, DoorDash unveiled a delivery robot called Dot that is built for suburban markets, and said it has been running an early access program for some restaurants in Tempe and Mesa, Arizona.

A DoorDash spokesperson said Dot is better served for customers who prefer doorstep service, while Waymos may be a preferred option for deliveries over longer distances and for larger parcels, such as electronics that are available for purchase on the app.

The San Francisco-based delivery company, which has the largest market share of food deliveries in the US, has also struck partnerships with other robotics companies such as Serve Robotics Inc. and Coco Robotics, for urban sidewalk settings in LA and Chicago.

The DoorDash-Waymo delivery partnership is part of a new collaboration between the two companies that also includes ride discounts. Members of the paid DashPass program in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix will be given $10 off certain weekday Waymo rides every month through the end of the year.

(Updates with comments from company spokesperson in the sixth paragraph.)

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.