Uber is connecting more automated distribution services to Uber Eats. On August 17th, the company announced its investment in and cooperation with the drone distribution company Zipline, with the goal of achieving a daily average of 1 million units by the end of 2029 through the Zipline drone.
First orders online this year.
The two companies indicated that the Zipline drones would begin to take over the Uber Eats platform order by the end of this year, that the first services would be located in the market that Zipline had entered and that a follow-up plan would be extended to dozens of United States cities. The parties did not disclose the specific amount of the investment.
Uber predicted that the Zipline drone could complete the order distribution in 5 to 10 minutes. Uber CEO Dara Kosrosasi stated that faster, instant retail distribution was becoming a larger market than traditional catering out-sale, which could lead to a new round of growth for Uber Eats.
Uber continues to expand its cooperative network.
This cooperation has continued the Uber platform strategy of recent years, which is to connect as many autopilot and automated service providers as possible to their own networks as possible, rather than re-establishing full self-employment systems. Previously, Uber had sold the Air Movement project Uber Elevate and the Autopilot Uber Autonomous Technologies Group.
After that, investment and cooperation became important ways for Uber to advance new technologies. It was reported that Uber had invested more than $10 billion in dozens of auto-driving-related businesses to maintain its layout in new travel and distribution services.
The drones are sending up the competition.
However, this model of multilateral cooperation is not without friction. Uber recently had a disagreement with the automatic driver, Waymo, and the parties were expected to conclude their cooperation after the expiration of the contract in 2028. The two companies are now taking a different position on the issue of automatic driving regulation.
Uber had previously tested drone distributions during its Elevate operations and announced late last year that it would work with the Israeli original company Flytrex, with small investments. The introduction of Zipline this time means that Uber is further adding the drone distribution track.
Additional information:Zipline, based in San Francisco, recently completed the expanded H round of financing, which amounted to $800 million, and the valuation rose to $7.6 billion.