Uber is making a strategic investment in Zipline and locking in a long-term partnership that plans to put the drone-delivery company's autonomous aircraft on the Uber Eats platform, the two companies said on August 17, 2026. The goal: one million drone deliveries a day by the end of 2029.
First orders take off in Dallas and Houston
Uber Eats customers will be able to order via Zipline drones by the end of this year, with launches beginning in Zipline's existing markets — starting with Dallas and Houston. The companies plan to expand to "dozens of additional U.S. cities" thereafter. Uber and Zipline say typical drone delivery times will fall between five and 10 minutes.
Uber's platform playbook meets Zipline's P2 Zip
The deal follows the model Uber has used in robotaxis: bring as many autonomy providers as possible onto Uber's front-end, and add equity investments to lock in supply. Uber has committed more than $10 billion across autonomous-vehicle partners since 2024. On the aerial side, it previously spun out Uber Elevate and later signed a smaller last-mile deal with Israeli operator Flytrex.
Financial terms undisclosed as Zipline extends Series H
Uber and Zipline did not disclose the size of the investment. Zipline recently closed an extended $800 million Series H that pushed its post-money valuation to $7.6 billion, giving the company plenty of firepower to scale its P2 Zip delivery drones as demand ramps. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told the Wall Street Journal that "truly quick commerce is proving to be an even bigger market than the original food market was." Zipline co-founder Keller Cliffton said the tie-up moves the industry closer to "a world where getting what you need is as fast and effortless as sending a text."
Reporting based on coverage from TechCrunch, Uber's investor press release and the Wall Street Journal.