Uber and Zipline will combine Zipline’s delivery aircraft with Uber Eats’ customer app and marketplace, aiming to put drone deliveries into the mainstream rather than a separate service; the companies set a target of one million deliveries per day by the end of 2029.
Practically, the deal means Zipline’s drones will start fulfilling orders placed through the Uber Eats platform, with first deliveries on Uber Eats scheduled before the end of this year and an initial rollout in Zipline’s U.S. footprint around Dallas‑Fort Worth. For Zipline the partnership is distribution at scale, access to Uber Eats’ consumers and order flow, and for Uber it adds an aerial option to the “hybrid” delivery mix of couriers, sidewalk robots and drones that the company says it is building world's largest hybrid network.
The companies described the move as a strategic investment by Uber but didn't disclose the investment, and they confirmed Zipline has already completed millions of trips, about two million deliveries so far. Uber frames the tie-up as one more partner on its platform rather than an in‑house capability, continuing a pattern of taking multiple outside developers and investors to expand new mobility services; the company has previously committed large sums to autonomous-vehicle providers as part of that approach . Uber also says Zipline’s aircraft can deliver orders to a customer’s front lawn in a “matter of minutes,” a speed claim that helps explain the scale target . As Uber’s chief executive put it about demand for rapid delivery, the desire is “insatiable,” a blunt accounting of intent .
Next steps are clear and measurable: the first Uber Eats drone drops are due this year in Zipline’s existing markets, with expansion into “dozens of U.S. cities” planned as the companies scale toward the 2029 target . For users, that means faster short‑range delivery where Zipline operates; for both firms, the immediate watchpoint is whether real‑world operations, local approvals and order economics scale cleanly enough to move drone deliveries from novelty to routine.