Meet the Delivery Robot with Arms & Hands
Neubility debuts Billi, Olo launches second-party network, Flink raises $100M, consumers hate fees
We’re kicking this week off with exclusive coverage of a new delivery bot form factor, a punchy foray into “second-party” ordering, some telling consumer research, and one big ol’ fundraising haul. Read on!
This week’s edition brought to you by Gridwise Analytics.
Today:
Neubility’s Handsy New Delivery Bot
Olo Makes Second Party Ordering Push
Chart Time | Consumers Want Free Lunch
Flink Raises, Just Eat Retreats
AUTONOMY | Neubility’s Delivery Bot Grows Arms
Korean robotics startup Neubility just premiered a new platform, dubbed Billi, that adds humanoid-like limbs, arms and a head to its more traditional delivery robot / AMR frame. The upgrades allow Neubility to better serve the dense apartment blocks that populate Seoul and other Korean cities, where consumers expect delivery service to meet them at their individual apartment’s door. Previous solutions — like retrofitting elevators with wireless communications that sync with the delivery bot — proved expensive and finicky. Billi features 360 degree movement on its arms, a modular loading bay, and the ability to use its arms to stock and load items.
Catch Neubility, and meet other companies making their U.S. debuts, at Curbivore: returning to DTLA on April 16 & 17. Register now, prices jump this week!
The Big Picture: The battle for delivery bot dominance shows no signs of slowing down. DoorDash just received permission to test three of its Dot bots in Fremont, one of the few times a Bay Area-town has permitted PDDs. Meanwhile, Avride has expanded into Philadelphia, building off its partnership with Uber Eats. (We hope they learned from what happened with the kind citizens of Philly encountered — and then dismembered — HitchBot.)
PARTNER | Rideshare Prices Up 9.6%, Platform Fees Surged 33%, Driver Pay Up Just 3.6%. Here’s What’s Reshaping Gig Mobility.
Download the 2026 Annual Gig Mobility Report from Gridwise Analytics to understand how pricing, earnings, tipping, and platform economics evolved across major U.S. rideshare and delivery platforms.
Our findings include:
Customer prices rose 9.6% while platform fees per trip surged 33.2% and driver gross pay per trip grew just 3.6%
Rideshare tips hit a record high of $1.58 per trip while delivery tips fell to $4.16, near an all-time low
Over 60% of consumers say they cut back on rideshare due to pricing, up 16.6% from the prior year
Consumers are rapidly shifting to more premium ride types, with Comfort, Black, and Priority jumping 10%, 35%, and 319% respectively
Driver bonus pay reached a three-year high of $317.65 per quarter
Download the full report to see the complete picture of where gig mobility economics stand today.
PLATFORMS | Olo Launches “Second Party” Ordering
Olo is taking a shot at the 3PDs, as it launches its own customer-facing ordering and (third party-assisted) delivery app. Dubbed the Olo App (clever), the platform offers restaurants commission-free ordering, while letting merchants retain all customer data. Olo is initially making the app available to restaurants on its full platform, but plans to eventually allow access to all merchants. “Second party means brands unifying around an experience, and then as it relates to guests, sharing the guest data in an effort to make for a better experience in a way that benefits all the brands,” said CEO Noah Glass.
The Big Picture: The Olo App builds off of Olo Accounts (fka Borderless,) which gave customers a single login to all restaurants that used its platform; that’s 500+ restaurants brands and over 40 million diners. Now owned by Thoma Bravo, Olo’s new Olo Network platform push has some familiar competitors: Neighborhoods on Square’s Cash App, Local by Toast and ChowNow’s self-titled app.
CHART TIME | Consumer Hate Delivery Fees, No Duh
Recent polling by Chamber of Progress, a trade group backed by tech’s biggest companies, finds that consumers broadly dislike delivery fees. Reasons cited include increased financial burdens and disadvantages to people with limited transport options, while respondents also note the fees make them likely to tip less. We should note that this is push polling, with those surveyed informed about the amount being taxed, but not the purpose of the fees.
FUNDING | Flink Raises $100M for European Expansion
Is super fast delivery back from the dead?! Berlin-based Flink just raised $100 million, in a round that values the company around $900 million, about 1/3 of its peak valuation in the heady days of 2021. The round was led by Prosus (which also owns iFood, Just Eat Takeaway.com and Delivery Hero) with participation by British American Tobacco’s venture arm (how much of Flink’s volume is emergency ordering of vape cartridges?) Flink lost €515 million ($603M) in 2022 and €213 million in 2023 and has raised more than $1.3B to date. The company, which now sports an average basket size of €45 and operates 160 hubs, plans to use its new funds for “selective expansion” throughout Germany and the Netherlands.
The Big Picture: Flink is one of the few pure-play q-commerce operators left standing, after Getir’s acquisition by Uber Eats. Other brands are feeling the pressure as well: Just Eat is leaving Denmark after 25 years of operations; Keeta is postponing plans to enter Rio de Janeiro; and Glovo is suspending its dark store network in Morocco.
A Few Good Links
Uber brings Women Preferences to all of U.S. DoorDash expands reservations to Chicago, including multiple Michelin Star winners; adds ad tools for franchisees; launches AI-enhanced pizza ordering; debuts Joe Fresh as first apparel-only retailer in Canada. UPS pivots away from ecommerce deliveries. Ocado cuts 1,000 heads. Kroger names new head of AI. Struggling Papa John’s hopes to up its software game. Eindhoven picks Umob as regional MaaS platform, including cargo bike bookings. Zoox begins testing in Dallas and Phoenix. Targets’ growth plan includes bringing next-day delivery to 20 new markets. Minnesota wary of permitting AVs. Feds ok Grubhub’s $25M settlement over CA driver misclassification. Delivery price wars weigh on JD.com earnings.
Got a tip, feedback, or just want to say hi? Reply back to this email.
— Brought to you by the Curbivore Crew.