Serve Robotics and DoorDash on October 29 launched Australia's first footpath robot delivery service on Queensland's Gold Coast, marking Serve Robotics' first operation outside the United States2,3.
The pilot began in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct, with Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers as the first participating restaurant. Eligible DoorDash customers ordering from participating local restaurants can choose robot delivery through the DoorDash app, with the option to opt in or out4.
How the fleet operates
The robots travel at walking pace, give way to pedestrians, and are monitored by trained remote supervisors. At the end of each shift, the robots return to Serve Robotics' operations depot at Griffith University. The pilot fits into DoorDash's broader multi-modal delivery strategy: robots handle short, local trips while human drivers cover longer-distance orders.
Griffith University serves as both the operational base for the fleet and Serve Robotics' local team. The two are exploring internship and early-career opportunities for Griffith students and graduates in robotics, autonomy operations, and field engineering.
Serve Robotics CEO Ali Kashani said the Gold Coast operation was a way to give local restaurants a new way to reach customers and earn community trust. "The City of Gold Coast opened the door, DoorDash brought the restaurants and customers, and Griffith University in the Health and Knowledge Precinct gave our fleet a home," he said. Kashani added that more local restaurants would join the launch in the coming weeks, with any future expansion informed by community feedback.
International template
Kashani described the Gold Coast structure as one Serve Robotics can repeat: "A city partner, a university depot and a delivery platform we already operate with at scale is a structure we can repeat, and the Gold Coast is the first proof of it". The City of Gold Coast, Griffith University, and the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct all supported the initiative.
Serve Robotics is currently hiring on the Gold Coast for operation and technician roles based at the Griffith depot.
ANALYSIS The Gold Coast deployment tests whether Serve Robotics' U.S.-developed sidewalk delivery model can transfer to a new regulatory and urban environment, using a city-university-platform partnership as a repeatable entry framework for international markets.