Starship Technologies has pulled its autonomous delivery robots from Sheffield just five months after launching in the city with Uber Eats.
The robotics firm said its pilot had come to an end and the service had been paused while it reviews the results, before deciding whether to deploy its robots in Sheffield again.
It follows a series of vandalism incidents involving the six-wheeled delivery robots and their infrastructure, including visibility flags being snapped off and the words “off our street” being daubed across robots.
Traffic cones were also placed behind some of the machines in an apparent attempt to prevent them from moving.
However, Starship insisted the incidents were not behind its decision to withdraw the service, describing the move as a commercial decision and the “natural conclusion” of the pilot.
Starship public affairs and communications manager Ryan Case said: “Our pilot in Sheffield has now come to an end, and we have paused the service while we review what we’ve learned.
“We’ll assess the results of the pilot before deciding on any future deployments of robots in the city. We regularly assess a number of areas across the UK, and Sheffield remains one of them.”
The Sheffield service launched in March as part of Starship’s partnership with Uber Eats, with autonomous robots delivering takeaway orders to around 50,000 households across the city.
The tie-up forms part of a wider push by Uber Eats and Starship to bring automated last-mile delivery to more markets.
Their partnership launched in the UK in Leeds in December 2025, with plans to expand across Europe and eventually into the US. Starship said at the time that its robots could complete deliveries over distances of up to two miles in less than 30 minutes.
The company has also built a sizeable presence in grocery delivery, working with retailers including Co-op, while its robots are capable of carrying up to three shopping bags of hot, chilled or frozen products.
But the technology has faced growing scrutiny as retailers and delivery platforms look to scale autonomous fulfilment.
Co-op is also facing criticism over its use of Starship robots, after walking charity Living Streets raised concerns over their impact on older and disabled pedestrians.
The charity has also called for clearer regulation of delivery robots on UK pavements as adoption grows.
Starship, which was founded by Skype co-founders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, operates across more than 270 locations globally and has completed more than nine million autonomous deliveries.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
