Uber Teams Up with Zipline for Drone Food Deliveries

Uber is joining forces with Zipline, a drone delivery company, to kick off airborne food deliveries later this year, aiming for a staggering one million daily drone deliveries by 2029. As part of this collaboration, Uber is also making a strategic investment in Zipline, which has been successfully conducting drone deliveries in Texas since 2025. This announcement comes as Uber’s competitors ramp up their own drone delivery initiatives, spurred by relaxed government regulations that enable longer and more cost-effective flights.

The Uber Eats service will launch in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where Zipline already operates, with plans to expand to numerous other cities in the future. Zipline has completed two million deliveries to date and has a presence in several countries, including Rwanda, Ghana, Japan, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Kenya. The company began its journey in Rwanda in 2016, focusing on delivering medical supplies swiftly to remote areas. This partnership mirrors a previous deal Uber struck with another drone company, which also involved an investment from the ride-hailing giant.

Uber claims that Zipline’s drones can deliver orders right to customers’ front lawns in just a few minutes. The company is working on creating the largest hybrid delivery network that combines human couriers, sidewalk robots, and drones, ensuring that customers receive their orders through the most efficient method based on their location.

While Uber collaborates with third-party drone operators, its competitors are actively seeking regulatory approval to launch their own drone fleets. Recently, DoorDash unveiled its drone delivery initiative, DoorDash Air, after gaining the green light from the Federal Aviation Administration.

In light of a 2025 directive from President Trump, the FAA has proposed new regulations to broaden the scope of drone delivery operations. Consequently, drone operators are racing to form partnerships with grocery chains and major retailers, eyeing a slice of what could be a $7.7 billion market by 2031, according to industry analysis.