This episode was recorded live in person at Coco’s office in Venice, CA, so is a great one to watch on YouTube.

Otherwise, you can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Substack. We now have transcripts available too (Click on the “transcripts” button in the top right corner of this post to access them).

In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Zach Rash, Co-founder and CEO of Coco, the autonomous delivery robotics company transforming last-mile delivery in cities around the world. Zach catches us up on Coco’s progress and explains what’s fuelling this wave of sidewalk delivery robots. He breaks down how Coco’s robots fit into the broader robotics ecosystem, how their form and capabilities have evolved over time, and what autonomy really looks like in practice, including the role teleoperation still plays today.

We also cover Coco’s delivery volume, fleet size, and teleoperation model, as well as industry sentiment around human-in-the-loop systems and how Zach thinks about them. Zach also shares his perspective on autonomous delivery versus robotaxis, and how merchants interact with Coco’s robots during real-world deliveries.

We explore the customer experience around pricing, no tipping, and delivery costs, along with Coco’s unit economics, operating costs, and utilization. The episode also looks at where Coco fits within the on-demand delivery ecosystem, how autonomous delivery can support local economies while lowering costs for AV companies, and the importance of partnerships with platforms like Uber and DoorDash.

Zach closes by sharing what excites him most about Coco’s future and where he sees the company heading next.

Chapters

(00:00) Introduction to Zach Rash and Coco

(02:10) Catching up on Coco, and their progress so far

(03:56) The second wave of sidewalk delivery robots, and what’s fuelling it

(05:40) How Coco’s robots fit into the robotics ecosystem

(07:10) How has Coco’s autonomous robots have evolved over time in form and function?

(09:29) How autonomous are Coco’s autonomous delivery robots? and their teleoperation

(10:30) Coco’s delivery volume by numbers, and fleet size

(11:30) How Coco’s teleoperation works

(13:14) Industry sentiments around teleoperation, and how Zach looks at it

(16:15) How Coco sources their teleoperators

(17:50) What Zach thinks about autonomous delivery vs robotaxis

(21:48) How restaurants/merchants interact with Coco’s robots during delivery

(22:50) How Coco’s customer experience works with no tipping, and delivery costs

(25:49) The unit economics of Coco’s robots, operating costs, and utilization

(33:15) Where Coco fits in the on-demand and delivery ecosystem

(34:40) How autonomous delivery benefits the local economies, and reduces costs for AV companies

(36:25) Coco’s partnership ecosystem overview

(37:31) How significant are Uber and DoorDash in the delivery ecosystem, and how independent are merchants?

(38:53) What are you most excited about in the future of Coco?

(41:30) Conclusion and final thoughts

Notes/Links:

* You can find Zach on LinkedIn (link), and Twitter/X (link).

* Coco’s website (link).

* Coco’s last fundraising announcement, mentioned at the 00:55 timestamp (link, no paywall).

-Harry

Thanks for being a subscriber to The Driverless Digest! If you enjoyed this episode, feel free to share it with someone who might like it too. And if this email was forwarded to you, why not subscribe and stick around :)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thedriverlessdigest.com

Autonomous Delivery Robots with Coco CEO Zach Rash

The Driverless Digest Podcast