Uber Partners With Zipline to Bring Drone Delivery to Uber Eats
August 17, 2026
Uber is bringing drone delivery to Uber Eats through a partnership with Zipline.
The two companies target one million drone deliveries per day by the end of 2029, with first deliveries later this year in markets where Zipline already flies.
Uber is also making a strategic investment in Zipline; the amount was not disclosed. Rather than building aircraft itself, Uber is putting an experienced operator on its app, the pattern it has used across autonomous vehicles.
What the Two Companies Announced
The announcement came on August 17, 2026. Uber Eats customers will have the option to receive orders in minutes via Zipline’s autonomous drones, starting in Zipline’s existing markets and targeting expansion into dozens of US cities.
Uber says deliveries are expected to take five to 10 minutes. Engadget reported that the first deployments will cover Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
Zipline flies on four continents, completes a delivery roughly every 20 seconds, and serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities. It has flown more than 135 million autonomous miles and made more than 2.7 million deliveries of over 20 million items.
Uber’s Strategy of Aggregating Outside Operators
Uber once owned Uber Elevate for aerial ridesharing and its own autonomous vehicle unit. It sold both, then shifted to loading outside operators onto its platform.
The same logic runs through its robotaxi strategy. Zoox, which won the first US commercial exemption for a passenger-carrying AV, is one of the operators set to join the Uber app. TechCrunch reported that Uber has committed more than $10 billion to autonomous vehicle providers.
The approach has limits: TechCrunch reported that Uber and Waymo have clashed and are expected to part ways when their contracts expire in 2028. In drone delivery, Uber also partnered with the Israeli startup Flytrex in late 2025 with a minor investment, so several operators will run in parallel.
Where Drone Delivery Wins Beyond Speed
Uber puts delivery times at five to 10 minutes, but payload and range stay limited. TechCrunch reported that Zipline’s Platform 2, its home delivery aircraft, carries up to eight pounds within a 10-mile radius.
Zipline’s edge is a decade of flight operations built in medical logistics. TechCrunch reported that the company operates in five African countries, multiple US cities, and Japan, and that a March 2026 extension brought its Series H to $800 million at a $7.6 billion valuation.
Engadget noted that DoorDash has worked with Wing since 2022 and recently expanded into metro Atlanta. Drone delivery has moved past pilots into a contest over which platform carries which operator.
What to Watch Next
Uber has not disclosed the size of its investment in Zipline. The “dozens of US cities” target has no named list or timetable yet.
Reaching one million deliveries a day depends on airspace rules and aircraft certification. The first deployments later this year should show actual delivery times and which order types the drones can handle.
Sources
Uber – Uber and Zipline Partner to Bring Drone Delivery to Millions of Americans
Engadget – Uber aims for 1 million daily drone deliveries with Zipline partnership
TechCrunch – Uber adds Zipline drones to its Eats delivery network
TechCrunch – Zipline snaps up another $200M to fuel its drone delivery expansion
