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Domino's is running the project under the framework of DRU (Domino's Robotic Unit), an initiative using robot and drone technologies for delivery. Starship robots will start delivering pizzas within a one mile radius around Domino's stores in selected German and Dutch cities, Starship Technologies said in a press release.

The companies expect robot deliveries to start in the next two months.

"We're shared in our vision with Domino's to constantly improve convenience for the customer," said Ahti Heinla, CEO of Starship Technologies. "Not only is Domino's pizza delicious, but the perfect topping is giving back the luxury of time and control to the customer, and our robots are best placed to offer this."

Don Meij, Domino's Group CEO and managing director, said the partnership between the company and Starship Technologies was an important next step in bringing robot pizza deliveries to reality.

"We are a global company and we are eager to progress innovative technology in all of the countries in which we operate – we are very excited to be partnering with Starship as it brings regular deliveries by robot one step closer to commercial operations," he said.

Meji said that robotic delivery units will complement their existing delivery methods, including cars, scooters and e-bikes.

"With our growth plans over the next five to 10 years, we simply won't have enough delivery drivers if we do not look to add to our fleet through initiatives such as this," he said.

Starship recently announced 17.2 mln U.S. dollars (EUR 16.5 mln) in seed funding, led by Mercedes-Benz Vans. The funding accelerates the development of pilot programs in Europe and the U.S. This announcement follows the launch of more partnerships in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Estonia with Postmates, DoorDash, Just Eat, Hermes Parcel Delivery, Swiss Post and Wolt.

Starship Technologies is building a fleet of autonomous robots designed to deliver goods locally in 15-30 minutes within a two mile radius. The robots drive autonomously but are monitored by humans who can take over control at any time.

Domino's Pizza Enterprises is the master franchisor for the Domino's Pizza brand in Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan and Germany. Across these seven markets, DPE and its franchisees operate over 2,000 stores.