WS Investor
17 Aug 2026, 15:59
Uber Partners With Zipline to Scale Drone Delivery Across U.S., Targets 1 Million Deliveries a Day
Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) announced a major strategic partnership with autonomous drone delivery company Zipline on Monday, aiming to bring drone-based Uber Eats deliveries to millions of U.S. consumers.
The first deployments are expected to begin later in 2026, allowing customers in supported markets to receive Uber Eats orders through Zipline’s autonomous drones. The companies plan to expand the service across dozens of U.S. cities.
More significantly, Uber and Zipline are targeting one million drone deliveries per day by the end of 2029, signaling ambitions to make autonomous delivery a meaningful part of Uber’s logistics network rather than a limited pilot program.
Uber will also make a strategic investment in privately held Zipline, although the size of the investment was not disclosed.
Uber Expands Its Autonomous Delivery Strategy
The partnership strengthens Uber’s push toward a hybrid delivery network combining human couriers, sidewalk robots and drones. Using autonomous delivery for suitable orders could eventually reduce delivery times and costs while expanding the capacity of the Uber Eats network.
Zipline already has significant operating experience. The company operates across four continents, has completed more than 2.7 million deliveries and has flown over 135 million autonomous commercial miles. Its technology is designed to deliver orders within approximately five to 10 minutes.
For Uber, the agreement provides access to an established drone platform without requiring the company to develop the underlying aviation technology itself. At the same time, Zipline gains access to Uber Eats’ large consumer and merchant network.
The scale of the 2029 target makes the partnership strategically significant for Uber. If successfully deployed across major U.S. markets, drones could become another important component of the company’s broader effort to automate portions of its delivery network and improve the economics of last-mile logistics.
Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) announced a major strategic partnership with autonomous drone delivery company Zipline on Monday, aiming to bring drone-based Uber Eats deliveries to millions of U.S. consumers.
The first deployments are expected to begin later in 2026, allowing customers in supported markets to receive Uber Eats orders through Zipline’s autonomous drones. The companies plan to expand the service across dozens of U.S. cities.
More significantly, Uber and Zipline are targeting one million drone deliveries per day by the end of 2029, signaling ambitions to make autonomous delivery a meaningful part of Uber’s logistics network rather than a limited pilot program.
Uber will also make a strategic investment in privately held Zipline, although the size of the investment was not disclosed.
Uber Expands Its Autonomous Delivery Strategy
The partnership strengthens Uber’s push toward a hybrid delivery network combining human couriers, sidewalk robots and drones. Using autonomous delivery for suitable orders could eventually reduce delivery times and costs while expanding the capacity of the Uber Eats network.
Zipline already has significant operating experience. The company operates across four continents, has completed more than 2.7 million deliveries and has flown over 135 million autonomous commercial miles. Its technology is designed to deliver orders within approximately five to 10 minutes.
For Uber, the agreement provides access to an established drone platform without requiring the company to develop the underlying aviation technology itself. At the same time, Zipline gains access to Uber Eats’ large consumer and merchant network.
The scale of the 2029 target makes the partnership strategically significant for Uber. If successfully deployed across major U.S. markets, drones could become another important component of the company’s broader effort to automate portions of its delivery network and improve the economics of last-mile logistics.
