Autonomous delivery expansion continues to accelerate in 2025, into 2026 and beyond, and one of the biggest moves this year comes from DoorDash and Coco Robotics.
After establishing a strong presence in Los Angeles, the two companies announced a major expansion of their partnership into Miami, one of the most competitive and fast-growing delivery markets in the country.
For drivers, this raises big questions about the future of gig work, job availability, efficiency, and how robotics may reshape the workforce.
Scaling from Los Angeles to Miami
Coco Robotics is known for its bright, compact sidewalk robots that operate at low speeds, handling short-distance local deliveries. DoorDash first partnered with Coco in Los Angeles, launching robotic deliveries for food, retail, and small grocery orders. LA served as the testing ground because of its dense neighborhoods, strong delivery demand, and large base of merchants.
Now the partnership is moving across the country to Miami. This marks a major step because Miami has different infrastructure, climate, foot traffic, and traffic patterns. Expanding here signals that the companies feel confident that autonomous delivery is ready for more diverse environments.
It also shows that DoorDash is strategically scaling automation across multiple delivery segments, not just restaurants but also retail and grocery.
For drivers, this trend is important because once a technology expands beyond its pilot city, it usually means a broader rollout has begun.
The Coco and DoorDash Partnership
Coco robots are teleoperated, meaning a human oversees or assists them when needed, but the robots are designed to navigate sidewalks using a mix of sensors and pre-mapped routes. They focus on hyperlocal routes that are usually under one mile.
What Coco Robots Deliver
- Small restaurant orders
- Convenience items
- Quick retail goods
- Selective grocery orders
- Dense urban deliveries with predictable routes
From DoorDash’s perspective, Coco robots help reduce costs on short trips that often pay low for drivers. They do not handle high-value, large, or long-distance deliveries. They also cannot enter apartments, climb stairs, navigate large buildings, or deliver to many suburban areas. This keeps human drivers essential for the majority of orders.
Coco benefits because DoorDash provides logistics, merchant relationships, and steady delivery volume.
DoorDash benefits because robots reduce strain during peak hours, support faster ETAs, and improve cost efficiency on ultra-short trips.
Will This Take Away Jobs from Drivers?
Drivers everywhere are asking the same question, and the answer is more complicated than a simple yes or no.
Autonomous delivery expansion does change how the industry operates, but it does not eliminate human drivers in the near future. Instead, it shifts the types of orders humans will handle.
On this one we’ll say only time will tell!
These are the orders that often pay very little and that many drivers decline. Offloading them frees drivers to focus on better-paying deliveries.
- Robots Cannot Navigate Complex Buildings or Long Routes
- Peak Hours Still Require Humans -Robots reduce strain, but they do not replace the large fleets needed during busy rushes like dinner time or weekends.
- Retail and Grocery Growth Increases Human Demand
- Robotics May creates supporting jobs – teleoperators, technicians, supervisors, and field support teams are needed to maintain the autonomous fleet.
- Many Orders Still Require Human Delivery– Robots cannot deliver alcohol, large orders, high-value items, or anything requiring ID verification or customer communication.
The expansion of DoorDash and Coco Robotics from Los Angeles to Miami is a major signal that autonomous delivery is moving into a wider rollout phase.
For drivers who stay aware of market changes, adapt early, and focus on higher-value deliveries, automation does not need to be as much of a threat. Instead, it can be part of a broader system that still heavily relies on skilled human workers.
Published by DeliverySoCal.com
Story source, PR Newswire, DoorDash and Coco Robotics Expand Partnership to Miami
With over 10 years working experience in the delivery app industry, we try to deliver the hottest resources for deliver driver apps, customer perks, and insights to the best delivery experience. We do use AI to assist in our posts, and we personally curate the topics that interest you most!