As part of the program, Uber is also making an investment in Zipline
Every year, there are 5.5 billion deliveries made in the U.S., and almost all of them use a 4,000 pound car. That’s billions of private taxis carrying burritos, ice cream, salads, and more.
Every dollar of growth in the delivery sector is capped by the same physical constraint—how fast can you move something from its origin to the person who ordered it.
But there are only so many roads in cities and we’re not building new roads. It’s time to take to the skies.
Zipline spent 10 years building an international logistics network that serves more than 5,000 hospitals and saves more than 12,000 lives each year. Now the company is bringing this technology and service to the U.S. to deliver anything people need in 5-10 mins. Lifesaving, in a different way.
Today we are taking one of the biggest steps toward expanding Zipline’s service to every home in the US: Zipline is partnering with Uber to offer drone delivery across America.
Uber built the world’s largest on-demand transportation and delivery platform. Zipline built the world’s largest drone delivery service. This partnership combines the superpowers of both companies – offering Zipline’s quiet, ultra-fast, precise delivery to millions of Uber customers and hundreds of thousands of local favorites. It accelerates Zipline’s national expansion. Our goal is for millions of people to be able to order lunch, dinner, snacks and more through the Uber Eats app and have them delivered by Zipline in minutes.
The partnership will first go live across markets where Zipline already operates like Dallas and Houston, and will expand in new places where Zipline adds service. Zipline and Uber plan to make one million deliveries a day, and have goals to expand far beyond that.
Uber is so confident in Zipline delivery that it is making a strategic investment in Zipline – reinforcing the fact that drone delivery will become part of everyday life for hundreds of millions of people in the U.S.
The Future of Delivery is Looking Up
“Teleportation isn’t science fiction anymore. It’s becoming part of everyday life,” said Zipline Co-Founder and CEO Keller Cliffton. “Every great transportation revolution has changed where people live, how businesses operate, and how economies grow. Together with Uber, we’re taking the next step toward building a world where getting what you need is as fast and effortless as sending a text, no matter where you are.”
Drone delivery means you can have an in-restaurant experience at home. You can now get food delivered in just a few minutes from when it’s finished in a restaurant kitchen, to when it’s in your backyard. Businesses that use Zipline can reach ten times as many customers because of the range and speed of this technology. And Zipline delivery is significantly safer and more predictable than the status quo.
“Zipline has built incredible technology, and Uber connects many millions of people with local merchants every day. Together, we’re shaping the future of delivery by creating a faster, more sustainable way for people to get what they need. We look forward to bringing this technology to more communities and making autonomous delivery part of everyday life,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber.
A Decade in Flight
Zipline operates the world’s largest drone delivery network, saving more than 12,000 lives each year. Each Zipline flight has zero emissions. We have delivered more than 20 million items and have safely flown more than 135 million autonomous miles. This is the equivalent of driving every single road in America 32 times, which statistically would have resulted in hundreds of crashes if performed by the average human driver.
Over the next several years, Zipline will be scaling its operations to major cities across the U.S. With this partnership, restaurants across the country will be able to use drone delivery and consumers will get a safer, faster, more convenient experience, powered by Zipline.
