Uber Eats and Nuro last week inked a deal to do robot food delivery in California and Texas.
As part of the 10-year partnership with Uber Eats, Nuro will deliver food with its autonomous robots. All delivery fees will remain the same with the exception of tips. Customers who tip in advance will get refunds for tips meant for humans, not robots, Tasha Keeney, director of investment analysis and institutional strategies for ARK Invest, wrote in a September 12 newsletter.
“ARK estimates that robot food delivery at scale could cost as little as $0.40 per trip. Today, Uber Eats’ fees range from $10 to $20 per order,” Keeney wrote. “In the Nuro partnership, we wonder if Uber will lower delivery costs, increase its profit margins, raise the wages of the humans still involved in the process, or all three?”
Investors looking to gain exposure to the advancements in autonomous transportation should consider the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ). ARKQ is an actively-managed fund from the team at ARK Invest that offers exposure to domestic and foreign equity securities of autonomous technology and robotics companies relevant to the theme of disruptive innovation.
Companies within ARKQ are focused on and are expected to substantially benefit from the development of new products or services, technological improvements, and advancements in scientific research related to, among other things, energy, automation and manufacturing, materials, artificial intelligence, and transportation. These companies may develop, produce, or enable: autonomous transportation, robotics and automation, 3D printing, energy storage, and space exploration, according to ARK.
ARKQ’s management fee of 75 basis points might seem pricey in the ultra-low-cost world of passive ETFs, but it’s cheap for active management, according to VettaFi.
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