Nuro is already using autonomous vehicles to deliver pizzas and prescriptions to Houston-area residents. Now, it's delivering packages in the Bayou City.
The California-based robotics company is working with Memphis-based FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) to test Nuro's autonomous delivery vehicles within FedEx's operations, the firms announced June 15. The pilot program in the Houston area, launched in April, marks the robotics company's expansion into the parcel logistics sector.
"Working with FedEx — the global leader in logistics — is an incredible opportunity to rethink every aspect of local delivery," said Cosimo Leipold, head of partnerships at Nuro. "This multiyear commitment will allow us to truly collaborate and bring Nuro’s powerful technology to more people in new ways and eventually reach large-scale deployment."
Specifically, Nuro has a long-term commitment from FedEx to use its autonomous bots for last-mile delivery, the robotics company said.
The collaboration with Nuro builds on FedEx's autonomous, same-day and specialty delivery services. The rapid growth of e-commerce has increased the firm's demand for autonomous services in all areas of the supply chain. The partnership with Nuro also allows FedEx to explore autonomous vehicle logistics including multistop and appointment-based deliveries.
On any given day, FedEx handles about 18 million packages with a fleet of 200,000 vehicles, Nuro said. The distribution and delivery sector has been booming since the pandemic began, with companies like Amazon investing in multiple facilities and thousands of new employees in the Houston area alone.
Meanwhile, Nuro is already working with several companies for autonomous deliveries in the Houston region. The company's delivery services in Houston began in April 2019, when Nuro partnered with Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) to launch driverless deliveries of groceries. Nuro announced it would pilot driverless grocery deliveries for Walmart Inc. in Houston in December 2019.
In 2020, Nuro and CVS Pharmacy initiated a delivery program for prescriptions in the Bellaire area. Domino's Pizza and Nuro kicked off a pilot program for driverless pizza deliveries in the Greater Heights area in April.
Houston's growing population, climate, geography and driverless vehicle-friendly local regulations made the market attractive to Nuro, the company told the Houston Business Journal in 2019.
