Starship Technologies, an autonomous delivery droid maker, has raised USD 17 million in new capital with participation from TDK Ventures and Goodyear Ventures. This brings the company’s total funding up to USD 102 million

The company plans to utilize the capital for continued expansion, including raising headcount by 40-50%.

The company also announced that it has surpassed the milestone of one million autonomous deliveries to commercial customers across the US and Europe, translating to 1.5 million miles in total. The company last reported completing 500,000 deliveries in June 2020. The company also reports 1,000 drone units in operation. 

Starship also announced two new additions to its university clientele: University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and Bridgewater State University Massachusetts. The company now boasts relationships with 15 universities.

Established in 2014, Starship began producing commercial deliveries in late 2017. In 2018, it launched a commercial delivery service in Milton Keynes, UK, in partnership with Tesco and Co-op Food. The service gradually expanded, adding new vendors and expanding to a service area of more than 15 estates in Milton Keynes and on to Northampton, UK in November 2020.