Brief: Robo-delivery startup Nuro raises $600m from Google, Kroger

• Nuro, a US startup building autonomous delivery vehicles, has raised $600 million in Series D funding.
• The round, which reportedly values the company at $8.6 billion, was led by Tiger Global. Other participating investors included Baillie Gifford, Fidelity, Gaorong Capital, Google, Kroger, SoftBank Vision Fund 1, T. Rowe Price,  and Toyota affiliate Woven Capital.
• Nuro and Google said their new relationship will allow them to “explore opportunities together to strengthen and transform local commerce.” As part of the deal, Nuro also struck a five-year partnership with Google Cloud. 

Why it matters:

“With the boost of this new funding, we’re turning our focus to commercializing and scaling the production of our third-generation vehicle at our new facility in Southern Nevada,” Nuro co-founder and president Dave Ferguson told TechCrunch.

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Founded in June 2016, Nuro’s “zero-occupant autonomous delivery vehicles” are designed to travel at lower speeds with lower emissions to transport everything “from produce to prescriptions” to consumers’ doorsteps.

The Mountain View, California-based startup is piloting its delivery robots with fast food chains Chipotle and Domino’s, logistics giant FedEx, and retailers including CVS, Walmart, and new investor Kroger.