Serve Robotics, known for sidewalk delivery, buys Diligent Robotics for $29 million, adding hospital-delivery Moxi robots and expanding into healthcare.
At a Glance
- $29 million purchase of Diligent Robotics, makers of the Moxi hospital robot.
- First step beyond food-delivery roots, serving hospitals with autonomous delivery.
- Serve’s fleet grew from 100 to over 2,000 robots in 2025.
- Why it matters: The deal signals a broader push for robots that move safely among people, opening new markets.
Serve Robotics, a Los Angeles-based company backed by Nvidia and Uber, announced on Tuesday that it had acquired Diligent Robotics, the startup behind the Moxi robot that delivers lab samples and supplies in hospitals. The deal values Diligent’s common stock at $29 million.
From Sidewalks to Hospital Corridors
Diligent Robotics was founded in 2017 by Andrea Thomaz and Vivian Chu and has raised more than $75 million in venture capital, including a $25 million round in 2023. The acquisition marks Serve’s first move beyond its original food-delivery focus. Serve was incubated inside Postmates in 2017, continued after Uber bought Postmates, and spun off in 2021. The company went public in April 2024 via a reverse merger.
Serve co-founder and CEO Ali Kashani said the purchase aligns with the company’s core thesis of last-mile delivery and robots that navigate alongside humans. “This is a kind of a classic example of a prepared mind meets opportunity,” Kashani told News Of Philadelphia in a recent interview. “Robots that are moving among people is the broader opportunity for us. Once you solve the problem, which is how to get robots to seamlessly move among people as autonomous machines, then you can bring it to a lot of other environments. We knew that we wanted to do this someday.”
A Strategic Fit, Not a Pivot
Kashani emphasized that healthcare was not a specific goal but an opportune match. Diligent was looking to scale, and Serve was exploring new areas. “We love the team; they have very similar DNA to us, which is, rather than building in a lab, they build in real life,” he said. “It just seems like it’s really aligned with our mission.”
Diligent will continue to operate relatively independently within Serve, Kashani said. The two companies will share technology and collaborate, while Diligent will tap into Serve’s software and tools to help them scale.
Kashani also clarified that this isn’t a pivot for Serve or a signal that the company is hunting more acquisitions. He said Serve remains focused on its sidewalk-delivery robots, but it will “keep our eyes open” for interesting companies as potential partners, not necessarily acquisition targets.
Growth and Partnerships
Serve’s fleet expanded dramatically in 2025, growing from 100 to more than 2,000 robots. The company also signed a partnership with DoorDash to facilitate some deliveries in Los Angeles in October. “Our sidewalk business is what’s fueling everything,” Kashani said. “It’s creating the technology. It’s one of the largest autonomous fleets in the world right now and developing that helps us create everything that we need in other applications.”
Looking Ahead
With the acquisition, Serve Robotics broadens its portfolio to include autonomous robots that can operate safely in crowded, human-dense environments like hospitals. The move positions the company to leverage its expertise in last-mile delivery across new verticals while maintaining its core focus on sidewalk delivery.
Key Takeaways
- Serve Robotics pays $29 million for Diligent Robotics, gaining the Moxi hospital robot.
- The deal is a strategic extension of Serve’s last-mile delivery focus into healthcare.
- Serve’s fleet grew from 100 to over 2,000 robots in 2025, and it partners with DoorDash.
- Diligent will remain largely independent but will collaborate closely with Serve’s software and tools.
- Kashani stresses that Serve will continue to prioritize sidewalk delivery while remaining open to future partnerships.
