Curbivore's Executive Firesides
Grubhub revives Seamless, tariffs hammer consumer budgets
We’re just a few days away from Curbivore 2025 — kicking off Thursday evening at Bike Shed Moto Co, before an all-day affair at our custom-built curb city at 826 Mateo St.
We’re keeping the industry news short and sweet this week (although we do have some at the bottom) because all the real news will be happening at Curbivore. And while Friday is full of insightful speeches, hands-on workshops, impactful exhibitions and more — this year we’re particularly excited about our fireside chats with top industry leaders. More details below.
Starting the day off — our own Rideshare Guy, Harry Campbell, will be talking with Richard Willder, Uber’s Global Head of Autonomous Policy, about how his company brings together 14+ partners, across both mobility and delivery. They’re joined by Sergei Kirillov of Avride — the rare startup making both a robotaxi and a sidewalk delivery bot.
Right after lunch, Jonah Bliss dives in with DoorDash Co-Founder (and head of DoorDash Labs) Stanley Tang, to hear how the company is investing in the future of logistics, leveraging autonomy, the gig economy, and AI to create a more efficient and sustainable ecosystem. We’re joined by a friend in high places, literally — Adam Woodworth, who leads Wing, Alphabet’s drone delivery business; as well as Zach Rash, whose delivery bot co Coco has recently expanded from the U.S. to Europe.
Capping the day off, Bloomberg’s technology reporter Natalie Lung talks us through the real-time data that powers next-gen delivery. She’s joined by Venkat Srinivasan, Director of Product Management, Last Mile Delivery at shopping behemoth Walmart, and Ryan Green, CEO of Gridwise, which has been collecting millions of data points on market selection, fleet optimization, and pricing strategies.
A Few Good Links
Grubhub reviving Seamless brand in NYC, where it retains a 22% market share, (see chart,) compared to about 5% nationwide. Domino’s and DoorDash partner. Port of LA expects 10% fall in container volume. iPhones losing favor among Chinese consumers. How China skirts U.S. chip bans. How tariffs are affecting restaurants and delivery. Consumers expected to lose $3,800 in spending power. Presidentially induced market crash dubbed “Orange Monday.” NY AG sued over on-demand pay. Everee and dlivrd launch instant pay card for drivers. Zomato cuts jobs and replaces them with AI. DoorDash Canada pushes to fund diverse restaurants at festivals. Big coffee chains struggle. First-party ordering takes off. Wagamama brings loyalty system to Deliveroo. Waymo may use interior cameras for AI training data. LA’s seminal 1925 Traffic Ordinance turns 100, it outlawed jaywalking in a city that already had the most cars per capita.
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— Brought to you by the Curbivore Crew.