Uber and drone developer Zipline have announced a strategic partnership to scale drone delivery in the U.S. Uber Eats customers will be able to receive orders by air this year, and by the end of 2029 the partners plan to reach one million deliveries per day.
Uber and drone developer Zipline have announced a strategic partnership to scale drone delivery in the U.S. Uber Eats customers will be able to receive orders by air this year, and by the end of 2029 the partners plan to reach one million deliveries per day.
As noted in the official press release, as part of the cooperation, Uber will also make a strategic investment in Zipline to accelerate the deployment of the technology. The exact amount of financial injections is not disclosed at this time. The autonomous delivery option will initially work in those regions where Zipline is already present, and then expand to dozens of other American cities.
The use of drones is expected to reduce order waiting times to 5-10 minutes. For Uber, the move is part of a strategy to create a flexible hybrid network that will automatically distribute orders between couriers, ground-based delivery robots and drones.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Zipline’s technology will help create a greener and faster way to do logistics. Zipline co-founder Keller Clifton said: “Teleportation is no longer science fiction, it’s becoming a part of everyday life. Together with Uber, we’re taking a step towards a world where getting what you need is as easy and fast as sending a text message.”
Zipline, a startup that has been developing a global drone logistics network for over 10 years, started in the healthcare sector and now serves over 5,000 hospitals on four continents, delivering blood and medicine. According to Zipline, its drones make one flight every 20 seconds. In total, the company’s drones have flown over 135 million autonomous miles and made over 2.7 million deliveries.
Earlier, Uber officially announced the acquisition of the German Delivery Hero group . As part of the deal worth about $14.8 billion, Uber will become the new owner of the Ukrainian business of the Glovo service.
