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Starship Technologies, an autonomous delivery service that deploys robots to deliver goods, has announced a $90 million funding round co-led by investment firms Plural and Iconical. This latest funding round – which brings Starship's total raised capital since its establishment to $230 million – is set to aid the company's global expansion efforts and capitalise on the growing demand for home deliveries. Operating in 80 locations worldwide, including the US, UK, Germany, Denmark, Estonia and Finland, the company's autonomous robots deliver takeaways, groceries, tools and corporate documents to customers' doorsteps, using less energy compared to human delivery methods. Companies including Bolt, Co-op, Aramark and Sodexo use Starship’s robots to deliver to their customers. The investment round will enable Starship to use continuous advancements in AI and machine learning to improve its AI, technology and wireless charging infrastructure. The capital will support the company's expansion into more global markets, with a particular focus on its Delivery as a Service (DaaS) offering. Through DaaS, Starship robots integrate into the delivery systems of its partners, providing enhanced capabilities and efficiency. The last-mile (the very last step of the delivery process when a parcel is moved from a transportation hub to its final destination) and on-demand (which allows customers to choose exactly when and where they prefer to have an order delivered) delivery segment is known for its high costs and significant carbon footprint. While this presents a sustainability challenge for logistics companies globally, the demand for these swift deliveries of food and other goods has continued to rise steadily. According to Starship, the estimated carbon emissions from last-mile delivery in Europe alone will reach 5.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2032, equivalent to emissions from 1.2 million gas-powered cars. Starship has addressed these challenges by creating a solution for last-mile delivery. Utilising innovative technology and sustainable practices, it has developed a method to deliver goods directly to customers nearby. The company says that this strategy proves to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly, meeting the demand for rapid deliveries while decreasing carbon emissions, thereby paving the way for a more sustainable future in logistics. Each Starship robot can run for 18 hours on full charge, with the average delivery using the same amount of energy as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea. Since its launch, Starship says its robots have saved nearly 1.8 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. Recently, Starship introduced wireless charging for its robots at George Mason University, in Virginia, US. The company plans to expand this wireless charging solution globally in the coming months, aiming to enhance the efficiency of last-mile delivery processes This initiative aligns with Starship's vision of establishing a fully autonomous system for scalable deployment. Ahti Heinla, co-founder and CEO of Starship Technologies, said: “Building a company like Starship takes at least a decade of perfecting the technology, streamlining operations and reducing costs to make last-mile autonomous delivery viable and sustainable at scale. Now we’re ready to take on the world and with ambitions to build a category-dominating company that can change the daily lives of millions of people in thousands of locations worldwide.” Taavet Hinrikus, partner at Plural, added: “Starship is the global leader in autonomous technology, built in Europe. For the past 10 years, the team have been working tirelessly to build the most advanced autonomous logistics technology in the world, driving more miles and making more deliveries than any other company, whilst reducing the impact of last-mile and on-demand delivery on the planet. The culmination of this hard work over the past decade and this new funding means Starship is well-positioned for accelerated growth."