From the Silicon Valley Business Journal:
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2025/10/08/doordash-robot-dot-fremont.html
In a modest Fremont production facility, technicians assemble the Dot, DoorDash’s first commercial autonomous delivery robot — a sleek, electric courier that can travel roads, bike lanes and sidewalks at up to 20 mph.
Developed by DoorDash Labs and manufactured locally by Sonic Manufacturing Technologies, the Dot is part of the company’s Autonomous Delivery Platform, which orchestrates AI-powered deliveries through robots, drones and Dashers.
The robot’s unveiling coincided with Fremont Manufacturing Week, underscoring the city’s growing role in the Bay Area’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem.
“The Dot is assembled entirely here,” said Ken Raab, founder and president of Sonic, which employs about 400 people in Fremont. “DoorDash sources the components, and we build the final product.”
Harrison Shih, head of product for DoorDash Labs, the company’s robotics and automation arm, said the team approached manufacturing “with a scrappy, lean startup mentality.”
“We’re taking it incrementally,” he said. “We’re able to manufacture it at a fraction of the cost using Sonic.”
Shih noted that supply chain disruptions have posed challenges, but strong vendor partnerships have kept production on track.
“We’re happy with our relationships — we’re able to work through issues because of collaboration and transparency,” he said.
A DoorDash spokesperson said the Fremont manufacturing facility represents an expansion of the company’s capabilities, “furthering our goal of bringing autonomy and AI to local commerce.” DoorDash, which has already completed more than 10 billion deliveries, continues to grow about 20% year over year, the spokesperson said. “At this scale, we need multiple delivery methods — Dashers, Dot, drones, and sidewalk robots — to meet demand.”
Shih added that DoorDash chose Sonic not only for its experience and depth, but also for its speed and agility. “They move as quickly as DoorDash,” he said.
DoorDash began production in April and is piloting the Dot in Arizona.
“You don’t always need a full-sized car to deliver a tube of toothpaste or pack of diapers,” said Stanley Tang, co-founder and head of DoorDash Labs, in a company release. “The breakthrough wasn’t just making it autonomous, but making it reliable and efficient.”
A DoorDash spokesperson said that these autonomous systems aren’t designed to replace Dashers but to complement them.
“All of these delivery methods grow in parallel, rather than substituting for each other,” the spokesperson said. “Dashers are and will remain an absolutely essential part of this ecosystem.”
Fremont officials said the partnership reflects the city’s broader vision for sustainable, middle-wage manufacturing jobs.
“With the groundbreaking of the Palisade Innovation Center, we’re creating the space,” said Donovan Lazaro, Fremont’s economic development manager. “With Manufacturing Week, we’re creating a workforce pipeline — and DoorDash is the product.”
The city hosted 17 manufacturing tours this week, reaching more than 500 students from Ohlone College, San Jose State University, Cal State East Bay and Mission Valley ROP, according to Lazaro.
“Fremont is playing a pivotal role in reindustrializing the state and country,” he said.
Sonic Manufacturing, which has operated in Fremont for 28 years, now serves as one of the Bay Area’s few large-scale contract manufacturers of high-tech hardware.
“We’ve always been in Fremont,” Raab said. “We’re proud to be part of the city’s manufacturing future.”
DoorDash chose Fremont, Shih said, because of its concentration of advanced manufacturing talent and proximity to the company’s Bay Area operations. It’s convenient, but it’s also the right ecosystem, he said.
DoorDash plans to scale its Dot operations in the Phoenix metro area by year’s end, serving more than 1.5 million residents, a company spokesperson said.