Uber is deepening its bet on aerial logistics, investing in and partnering with drone delivery specialist Zipline to weave autonomous aircraft into the Uber Eats network. The companies are targeting an ambitious milestone: one million drone deliveries per day on the platform by the end of 2029.

Zipline’s drones are slated to begin handling Uber Eats orders later this year, initially in Zipline’s existing service areas before expanding into dozens of U.S. cities. While the size of Uber’s investment has not been disclosed, the deal signals how seriously the ride-hailing giant views ultra-fast, automated delivery as the next phase of its growth.

Rather than building its own drones, Uber is following a familiar playbook. After selling off in-house efforts like Uber Elevate and its autonomous vehicle division, the company has shifted to a platform strategy: aggregating as many robotics and autonomy partners as possible. It has already teamed up with multiple drone operators and robotaxi developers, backing them with more than $10 billion in investments over the years.

That approach has kept Uber at the center of emerging transportation technologies, even as it exited direct development. It has not been without friction, however. Uber’s high-profile alliance with Waymo is expected to wind down when current contracts expire, underscoring how competitive and politically fraught the autonomous mobility space has become.

Zipline offers Uber a mature, operational drone network rather than a speculative bet. The San Francisco-based company has spent years flying medical supplies, prescriptions, and consumer goods in markets across Africa, the United States, and other regions, logging millions of autonomous miles. Its latest funding round, an extended Series H of $800 million, valued the company at $7.6 billion and is helping finance a new generation of quieter, more precise delivery drones.

Uber believes Zipline’s aircraft can compress delivery windows to as little as five to ten minutes for many orders, a leap that could redefine customer expectations. Executives describe “truly quick commerce” as a market potentially larger than traditional restaurant delivery, positioning drones as a catalyst for the next phase of Uber Eats expansion.

Zipline’s leadership frames the partnership in sweeping terms, casting drone logistics as the next major transportation revolution, one that could reshape where people live and how businesses operate by making goods arrive almost as effortlessly as a text message.