GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jan. 13, 2020 -- Sodexo, a global food services and facilities management company committed to improving Quality of Life, and Starship Technologies announced today the full launch of the robot food delivery service on the University of Pittsburgh campus.

Starship’s fleet of 30 autonomous, on-demand robots will initially deliver from seven campus eateries—Common Grounds, Forbes Street Market, Taco Bell, Auditions, Tres Habernos, Einstein’s, and the Sub Connection. The program will later expand to include additional area deliveries.

“We appreciate Sodexo working with us to provide the Pitt community with healthy and delicious food options daily,” said Julie Bannister, Pitt’s Assistant Vice Chancellor for Auxiliary Services. “By bringing on-demand robots to our campus in collaboration with Starship, they are using effective technology innovations to increase convenience and benefit our campus community.”

“We are always looking for opportunities to provide added convenience and ease for today’s busy college student,” said Jonathan Crayton, Sodexo general manager at University of Pittsburgh. “We are excited to partner with Pitt and Starship to expand the robot delivery program.”

With this robot service, students, faculty and staff can have their favorite campus food delivered to their door via the Starship Deliveries app for a small fee of $1.99 and pay via credit card, Panther Funds or student meal plan accounts. Delivery hours vary based on each outlet’s operating hours.

About Sodexo North America Sodexo North America is part of a global, Fortune 500 company with a presence in 72 countries. Sodexo is a leading provider of integrated food, facilities management and other services that enhance organizational performance, contribute to local communities and improve quality of life for millions of customers in corporate, education, healthcare, senior living, sports and leisure, government and other environments daily. The company employs 150,000 people at 13,000 sites in all 50 U.S. states and Canada and indirectly supports tens of thousands of additional jobs through its annual purchases of $9.2 billion in goods and services from small to large American businesses. Sodexo is committed to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion and safety, while upholding the highest standards of corporate responsibility and ethical business conduct. In support of local communities across the U.S., the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation has contributed close to $32 million over the past 20 years to help feed children in America impacted by hunger. To learn more about Sodexo, visit SodexoUSA.com, SodexoInsights.com and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

About Starship Technologies

Starship Technologies is revolutionizing deliveries by using autonomous delivery robots. The robots are designed to deliver goods locally in minutes. The delivery robots have traveled tens of thousands of miles, met millions of people and have been tested in over 100 cities around the world to date. They drive autonomously but are monitored by humans who can take over control at any time. Starship was founded by two Skype co-founders, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis and former AirBnB executive Lex Bayer is CEO. Website: https://www.starship.xyz/follow / starshipdeliveries.com

About University of Pittsburgh

A nonsectarian, coeducational, state-related, public research university founded in 1787, the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a member of the prestigious by-invitation-only Association of American Universities and internationally renowned as a leading center of learning and research in the arts, sciences, humanities, professions, and health sciences. Comprising a Pittsburgh campus, which is home to 16 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, and four Western Pennsylvania regional campuses, Pitt offers nearly 500 distinct degree programs and confers more than 8,500 degrees annually. Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998 and is ranked among the top 10 American research universities nationally in terms of total federal science and engineering research and development obligations. For more information, visit www.pitt.edu.

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