Rakuten Scales Up Autonomous Delivery Service with Advanced Robots, Wider Service Area and More Stores

Tokyo, February 26, 2025 - Rakuten Group, Inc. today announced a major expansion of its autonomous delivery service^*1. The service will now feature advanced robots from Avride, a leading developer in the autonomous vehicle and delivery robot industry, as well as an expanded roster of participating stores. The service area has also been expanded to include all of Harumi and parts of Tsukishima and Kachidoki in Tokyo. 

Avride robot deployed as part of the expanded service.

Since its launch in November 2024, Rakuten’s autonomous delivery service has been providing daily, reliable deliveries – even during nighttime and rainy weather – from popular stores such as Starbucks Coffee Harumi Triton Square, Supermarket Bunkado Tsukishima and Yoshinoya Harumi Triton Square^*2. From February 2025, the service has been expanded further to new stores including the cake shop Patisserie Hat and the convenience store FamilyMart Harumi Center Building. The delivery area has also grown to cover all of Harumi, parts of Tsukishima 1-4 chome, and parts of Kachidoki 1-6 chome, with over 90 designated delivery points now available for customers to choose from.

To meet growing demand for autonomous delivery and enhance the service even further, Rakuten has introduced state-of-the-art robots from Avride, a U.S.-based leader in autonomous delivery technology, in addition to its existing fleet^*3. Starting February 27, these robots will make their debut in Japan, marking the first time Avride’s cutting-edge robots will be deployed in the country.

Going forward, Rakuten plans to scale up to a fleet of ten Avride robots. To ensure seamless operations, Rakuten has also upgraded its proprietary delivery management system to optimize robot allocation and has conducted successful operational tests with a 10-robot system^*4.

Hideaki Mukai, Executive Officer, Vice President of the Incubation Business, Rakuten Group, commented, "Amid labor shortages in Japan’s delivery industry, we are witnessing increasing demand for reliable and convenient delivery solutions. We are delighted to collaborate with Avride to further expand our autonomous delivery service here in Japan."

Toby Snuggs, Global Commercial Director at Avride, commented, "We are thrilled to bring our technology to Japan for the first time in collaboration with Rakuten. By introducing our autonomous delivery robots, we aim to contribute to the convenience of Japanese society while advancing innovation in logistics."

Avride is renowned for its extensive experience and technological expertise in autonomous delivery robots and self-driving vehicles, with research and development centers worldwide. Their autonomous delivery robots are equipped with various sensors and sophisticated algorithms, leveraging the advanced solutions used in the company’s self-driving cars to provide efficient, reliable and safe solutions for modern urban logistics. In the U.S., Avride’s robots have been widely deployed for commercial use. The robots used in this service have passed the safety standards set by Japan’s Robot Delivery Association as of December 13, 2024.

Rakuten has been working to commercialize delivery robot services to address labor shortages in the delivery and logistics industries, expand online shopping use and improve customer convenience. In addition to numerous pilot tests, the company launched Japan’s first supermarket robot delivery services on public roads in March 2021 for a limited period in Yokosuka City^*5. From November 2022, Rakuten operated regular robot delivery services around Tsukuba station for a limited period, accumulating valuable expertise in the process^*6. 

Rakuten remains committed to expanding its services so that even more people can utilize safe, secure and highly convenient services provided by autonomous delivery robots.

Notes:
*1 For more details on the service, please refer to the following press release: https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/news/press/2024/1106_01.html (*Japanese page)
*2 Excludes certain periods such as the year-end and New Year holidays.
*3 The current model in use was developed by Cartken Inc. and customized for the delivery service by Melco Mobility Solutions Corp., a Mitsubishi Electric Corporation group company.
*4 Conducted from December 2024 to January 2025 with subsidies under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's FY2023 supplementary budget for Advanced Demonstration Projects for Logistics Efficiency, specifically under the Demonstration Project to Promote the Introduction of Autonomous Delivery Robots.
*5 For more details on the service, please refer to the following press release:
https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/news/update/2021/0308_02.html (*Japanese page)
*6 For more details on the service, please refer to the following press release: 
https://corp.rakuten.co.jp/news/update/2022/1118_01.html (*Japanese page)

Overview of Rakuten’s robot delivery service (as of February 2025)
Official website URL: https://r10.to/h5n8vP
Launch date: November 6, 2024 
Participating stores: Starbucks Coffee Harumi Triton Square, Supermarket Bunkado Tsukishima, Patisserie Hat, FamilyMart Harumi Center Building, Yoshinoya Harumi Triton Square
Number of products available: Over 4,500 items
Delivery locations: 91 locations within Harumi 1-5 chome, parts of Tsukishima 1-4 chome, and parts of Kachidoki 1-6 chome
Operating days: Daily, except for certain holidays such as New Year's
Delivery hours: 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Please refer to the official website for store-specific hours)
Delivery fee (excluding cost of goods): 100 yen (tax included)
Payment methods: Credit card, Rakuten Points, Rakuten Cash

About Avride’s autonomous delivery robots
Manufacturer: Avride (https://www.avride.ai/)
Dimensions: Length 86.1cm × Width 65.5cm × Height 117.8cm (79.6cm excluding flag for visibility)
Load capacity: Approximately 54L
Weight limit: 25kg
Maximum speed: 6km/h

Avride robots in Tokyo.

10 Avride robots in Tokyo.

Customer picking up goods from an Avride robot.

About Avride
Avride, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is a startup specializing in autonomous vehicles, with research and development centers around the globe. Since 2017, Avride has been developing and implementing autonomous vehicle and delivery robot technologies, creating solutions that meet current needs and anticipate future demands.
For more information, please visit https://www.avride.ai/.