Avride and Sodexo Campus have signed an agreement to scale autonomous robot delivery across Sodexo Campus partner colleges and universities, a network of approximately 425 U.S. higher education institutions. The agreement pairs Avride’s sidewalk delivery robots with the campus dining operations of Sodexo Campus. According to the companies, it creates a ready framework for participating campuses to move from interest to implementation in weeks rather than months.
Highlights
- Sodexo Campus works with approximately 425 higher education institutions across the U.S.
- The companies say campuses can move from interest to implementation in weeks instead of months.
- Avride reports more than 600,000 autonomous deliveries completed across campuses and cities.
- Avride robots already operate at four major U.S. campuses, including The Ohio State University.
What the Agreement Covers
The agreement gives Sodexo Campus partner institutions a repeatable path to launch robot delivery. The companies say the program is intended to expand access to dining beyond traditional service points for students, faculty, and staff.
Sodexo Campus positions its national footprint as a platform for scaling autonomous delivery in campus environments where demand, foot traffic, and operating complexity are high. For colleges and universities, the companies say autonomous delivery can extend service reach, support peak demand periods, and give students more flexibility in how and where they access meals.
“College campuses are where delivery is part of daily life,” said Dmitry Polishchuk, CEO of Avride. “By bringing Sodexo Campus’s deep knowledge of campus dining together with Avride’s real-world delivery experience, we have an opportunity to set a new standard for how food moves across campus.”
“Technology is most powerful when it solves a real need for the people we serve,” said Roberta Frierson, Vice President of Digital, Campus, Sodexo North America. “Autonomous delivery helps expand access, increase convenience and support more agile campus operations. Through this agreement with Avride, we are making it easier for institutions to adopt practical innovation that can improve the student experience and deliver measurable value for campus communities.”
How Do Avride’s Campus Delivery Robots Navigate?
Avride designs its robots for pedestrian-heavy spaces. These include walkways and pathways adjacent to residence halls, academic buildings, libraries, and campus dining locations. The robots use a combination of sensors and machine learning to navigate sidewalks autonomously and fulfill orders in busy campus settings, according to the company.
Details on the Avride delivery robot platform are published on the company’s product page.
Existing Campus Deployments
Avride’s technology is already operating at several U.S. campuses:
- The Ohio State University
- Indiana University Bloomington
- University of Arizona
- Salisbury University
The company reports more than 600,000 autonomous deliveries across campuses and cities in a range of conditions. Avride says this operating history gives it experience deploying and scaling fleets across varied environments. The Austin-based company also runs city delivery operations through its partnership with Uber, which covers both sidewalk robots and autonomous vehicles.
