Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER.US) invests heavily in hunting Delivery Hero, striving to build a "AI + unmanned delivery" super empire.

Global ride-sharing and delivery service leader Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER.US) has acquired a stake in the German takeout leader Delivery Hero SE held by Aspex Management, increasing its ownership stake to 36.83%. At the time of Uber Technologies, Inc.'s acquisition of Delivery Hero shares from Aspex, the ride-sharing company was focused on negotiating a major acquisition deal to acquire the German takeout platform. For Uber Technologies, Inc.'s recent plan for a "fully autonomous AI automation system (represented by Robotaxi and drone delivery) + global delivery service platform" grand plan, Delivery Hero is not just an acquisition target, but a global order density, merchant network, and local fulfillment scene amplifier. Delivery Hero stated in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that Uber Technologies, Inc. has significantly increased its voting rights corresponding to its ownership stake to 24.99%, with the remaining ownership held in the form of financial instruments. This is below the threshold for triggering a mandatory tender offer. Sources familiar with the matter said that the latest price paid by Uber Technologies, Inc. was slightly below 40 per share; as the information has not been publicly disclosed, these sources requested anonymity. From a travel platform to an ambitious "global city mobility and delivery platform," Delivery Hero becomes a key piece of the puzzle. This move comes after Uber Technologies, Inc. made a takeover offer of 33 per share, which Delivery Hero revealed on Saturday. The offer valued the Berlin-based takeout platform company at approximately 10 billion (US$11.6 billion), with no premium offered compared to the company's recent stock price. Under German law, any acquirer that establishes a threshold of voting rights corresponding to 30% or more of the shares triggers an obligation to make a mandatory takeover offer, which Uber Technologies, Inc. has not crossed. If Uber Technologies, Inc. intends to continue purposefully increasing its ownership stake, it may need to obtain approval from antitrust regulators in several markets where Delivery Hero operates. By increasing its stake in Delivery Hero to nearly 37% and combining it with the company's continuous expansion in the fields of Robotaxi autonomous travel and drone delivery, this transaction appears to be a crucial part of Uber Technologies, Inc.'s strategy as an "AI-driven city mobility and delivery platform." Aspex had previously lobbied for Delivery Hero to sell core assets and successfully pushed for the removal of co-founder and CEO Niklas stberg. The Hong Kong-based activist investor had complained that Delivery Hero, operating in dozens of countries, was undervalued compared to its peers due to its presence in too many markets, exposing the company to a range of different competitive dynamics as well as legal and regulatory requirements. Prior to this transaction, Uber Technologies, Inc. was already one of the largest shareholders of Delivery Hero. The company disclosed earlier this month that it held nearly 20% of the shares and had options for an additional 5.6% stake. Prosus NV was previously the largest investor in Delivery Hero, currently holding an additional 17% stake. The EU has demanded that Prosus sell most of its shares by August to obtain antitrust approval for its acquisition of another takeout platformAmsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com NV. Sources familiar with the matter said that Prosus has requested the EU to retract this requirement to avoid being forced to sell a large portion of its stake during negotiations. Prosus NV is Tencent's largest shareholder, a long-time investment giant focused on the technology sector. Just Eat Takeaway.com is a Netherlands-based online food ordering and delivery platform founded in 2000. The company connects consumers with restaurants through its website and mobile app, offering delivery services. Uber Technologies, Inc. is targeting Delivery Hero to transform from a ride-sharing giant to an "AI automated delivery empire." Delivery Hero SE is a global local delivery platform based in Berlin, Germany, with core businesses in takeout, instant retail, groceries, and convenience delivery, under various brands covering multiple regional markets, such as foodpanda, talabat, Yemeksepeti, PedidosYa, among others. Its value lies not only in being a "takeout platform," but in having a large number of merchants, riders/delivery networks, user order data, payment relationships, instant fulfillment capabilities, and local operating permits for global delivery infrastructure. The company's 2025 performance shows that its total instant retail transactions have grown by over 30%, surpassing 7.5 billion, indicating its evolution from traditional restaurant takeout to "daily consumption access." Uber Technologies, Inc. is determined to acquire Delivery Hero primarily because the global takeout industry is entering a new phase of consolidation. The acquisitions of Deliveroo by DoorDash, and Just Eat Takeaway by Prosus, demonstrate that the industry no longer rewards small-scale growth in individual markets, but rather rewards cross-regional scale, platform traffic, merchant density, delivery density, and capital efficiency. Uber Technologies, Inc.'s Uber Eats instant delivery platform is strong in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and some Asia-Pacific markets, while Delivery Hero has a deep network in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and parts of Europe. If Uber Technologies, Inc. acquires Delivery Hero, it would expand its own "ride-sharing + takeout" bilateral platform into a more global "mobility + local delivery + instant retail" AI-powered super network, namely the "AI technology-driven city mobility and unmanned delivery platform." Combined with Uber Technologies, Inc.'s recent "fully autonomous system (represented by Robotaxi and drone delivery) + global delivery service platform" grand plan, Delivery Hero is not just an acquisition target, but an amplifier of global order density, merchant network, and local fulfillment scenes. The commercialization of autonomous driving fears most that "the fleet has the technology, but lacks enough order density to dilute fixed costs"; while takeout, grocery, and instant retail orders inherently have high frequency, short distances, standardizability, and dispatchability features, which are suitable for gradually replacing human delivery with Robotaxi, Siasun Robot&Automation delivery, and drones. Delivery Hero has even tested Siasun Robot&Automation grocery delivery in Sweden and South Korea, and launched food delivery drones in Stockholm, aligning closely with Uber Technologies, Inc.'s direction of automatic delivery. Delivery Hero's significance for Uber Technologies, Inc. is closer to being the "demand-side pedestal for the future automated delivery network," which is required for the commercialization of autonomous taxi services, automated Siasun Robot&Automation delivery, drone delivery, and intelligent scheduling systems. Autonomous taxis solve human travel, automated delivery solves goods movement; both fundamentally rely on high-frequency order scheduling, route planning, supply-demand matching, pricing systems, fleet/Siasun Robot&Automation operations, city-level regulatory interfaces, and local fulfillment networks. In recent years, Uber Technologies, Inc. has accelerated its deployment of autonomous driving ecosystems, launched autonomous driving solutions business, and partnered with Nuro, Lucid, Rivian, MOIA, Hertz, and others to promote unmanned taxis, autonomous fleet operations, and delivery scenarios; Uber Technologies, Inc. has also explicitly considered autonomous driving cars, sidewalk delivery with Siasun Robot&Automation, and drones as ways to reduce delivery costs for Uber Eats in the future. If this transaction succeeds, Uber Technologies, Inc.'s grand investment narrative will evolve from being a "ride-sharing and takeout platform" to being a "global city automated logistics operation platform based on artificial intelligence." The short-term risks include regulatory approvals, German mandatory bid rules, EU antitrust review, the complexity of Delivery Hero's multi-market operations, and integration costs; but in the medium to long term, what Uber Technologies, Inc. truly seeks is to unify ride orders, restaurant orders, grocery orders, and future autonomous driving forces like Robotaxi and drones into an AI-based super scheduling network.