Uber and Zipline have formed a strategic partnership targeting one million drone deliveries per day by the end of 2029, with the first deliveries beginning later this year. Zipline‘s autonomous drones will fulfill Uber Eats orders starting in the drone operator’s existing markets, with the two companies targeting expansion into dozens of US cities. Uber Technologies will also make a strategic investment in Zipline as part of what both sides describe as a long-term arrangement.
Highlights
- Partnership targets one million drone deliveries per day by the end of 2029
- First Uber Eats drone deliveries planned for later this year, launching in existing Zipline markets
- Zipline reports more than 2.7 million deliveries covering more than 20 million items to date
- Zipline says it has flown more than 135 million autonomous miles and completes a delivery every 20 seconds
How Will Drone Delivery Work on Uber Eats?
The first deployments begin later this year, at which point Uber Eats customers in eligible markets will have the option to receive orders by drone rather than by courier. Zipline says its US service is built to deliver in five to 10 minutes.
Initial availability follows Zipline’s current operating footprint. From there, the companies say they intend to expand the service into dozens of additional US cities, though neither has published a market-by-market rollout schedule.
Zipline’s Delivery Network at Scale
Zipline says it spent a decade building an international logistics network that now serves more than 5,000 hospitals and, according to the company, saves more than 12,000 lives each year. The company reports operations across four continents and a delivery completed somewhere in its network every 20 seconds.
Cumulative volume stands at more than 2.7 million deliveries covering more than 20 million items, per the company, with more than 135 million autonomous miles flown. Zipline also credits the service with reducing traffic and carbon emissions, a claim it has not paired with published measurement data.
Where Drones Fit in Uber’s Delivery Mix
Uber frames the deal as one component of a hybrid delivery network that combines human couriers, sidewalk robots, and drones, with each order matched to a delivery mode. The company says the arrangement extends Zipline’s service to millions of Uber Eats customers and hundreds of thousands of small businesses.
“Zipline has built incredible technology, and Uber connects many millions of people with local merchants every day,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. “Together, we’re shaping the future of delivery by creating a faster, more sustainable way for people to get what they need. We look forward to bringing this technology to more communities and making autonomous delivery part of everyday life.”
Scaling Toward the 2029 Target
The one-million-deliveries-per-day goal is a joint target rather than a contracted commitment, and reaching it would require volume well beyond Zipline’s current cumulative total. The strategic investment from Uber is positioned as support for that scaling effort.
“Teleportation isn’t science fiction anymore. It’s becoming part of everyday life,” said Keller Cliffton, Co-Founder of Zipline. “Every great transportation revolution has changed where people live, how businesses operate, and how economies grow. Together with Uber, we’re taking the next step toward building a world where getting what you need is as fast and effortless as sending a text, no matter where you are.”
