Uber announced on this Monday (August 17) a partnership with Zipline so that Uber Eats customers in the United States can start receiving orders "in minutes" by autonomous drones later this year. The company will also make an investment in Zipline, which has a goal of reaching 1 million daily drone deliveries by the end of 2029.
According to the statement, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery every 20 seconds and serves more than 5,000 hospitals. The company has already made more than 2.7 million deliveries of more than 20 million items, reducing traffic, carbon emissions and saving people time.
Zipline will bring the technology to the U.S. to deliver "anything people need in 5 to 10 minutes." The partnership expands Uber's delivery network, which already includes couriers, sidewalk robots and drones.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Zipline has built "incredible technology" and that Uber connects many millions of people to local merchants every day. "Together, we are shaping the future of deliveries by creating a faster and more sustainable way for people to get what they need," he said. "We are eager to bring this technology to more communities and make autonomous delivery part of everyday life."
Competition
The announcement comes weeks after DoorDash, a rival of Uber Eats, received approval to launch its own drone delivery program.
Harrison Shih, head of DoorDash Air, said at the time: "We want drone delivery to work for any merchant, anywhere. We are building the full stack to make it possible, from ground infrastructure to the drone itself and the transfer systems that make it all work perfectly."
