Uber Eats Sends in the Drones

Uber Eats wants your pad thai dropped in minutes, not half an hour—and it's turning to drones to do it. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the company is partnering with Zipline to roll out aerial deliveries in Dallas and Houston by year's end, with a moonshot goal of "one million drone deliveries per day by the end of 2029," per an Uber statement. Uber is also investing in the drone maker, though neither side is saying how much. "Teleportation isn't science fiction anymore," says Zipline co-founder Keller Cliffton. "It's becoming part of everyday life."

Zipline's aircraft are expected to cut delivery times to 5-10 minutes and reach beyond dense city cores, as Uber builds software to decide which orders go by drone and which stick with human couriers. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi calls the market for near-instant delivery "insatiable," per the Journal. "It doesn't seem like it's ending." Neither company disclosed what the first ravenous test markets might be, notes the SFist. The deal marks Uber's largest bet yet on drones and extends Zipline's shift from delivering medical supplies in countries like Rwanda to moving food and retail goods for US giants including Walmart and Chipotle.