By Christopher Kuo

DoorDash, the largest food delivery app in the U.S., is positioning itself for an AI future, with a push in research and development.

CEO Tony Xu said in an earnings call that he envisions DoorDash taking advantage of the growth of agentic commerce, in which AI bots make purchases on behalf of human users.

The spread of AI agents will expand DoorDash's role as the middleman between consumers and businesses, Xu said, just as the rise of Google and Facebook buoyed DoorDash in the past.

"We're going to be the best place to solve the end-to-end job for customers," Xu said.

The company said R&D costs climbed 41% last year. DoorDash also plans to ramp up investment in autonomous vehicles, such as robots and drones. Its autonomous delivery platform is the "most valuable part of what we're building," Xu said.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 18, 2026 18:29 ET (23:29 GMT)

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