Amazon announced a major expansion of its drone delivery service, with plans to roll it out to nearly 500 cities and towns by the end of the year. The service, dubbed Prime Air, offers drone delivery in as little as 30 minutes, and will launch to metro areas including Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland, Syracuse, N.Y., and Boise, Idaho. The Cast-Iron Company That Has Been Controlled by the Same Family for 130 Years Big Food's Biggest Challenge: People Who Don't Want to Eat Anymore OpenAI's Second-Quarter Sales Show Tepid Growth Compared With Anthropic Inside the Race to Build America's First Nuclear Reactor in a Generation Inside Big Tech's Frantic Race to Quell the Growing Backlash to AI Amazon said its Prime Air service can deliver a selection of items by drone including groceries, electronics, medications and household products.
The e-commerce giant currently operates in 11 metro areas, including Phoenix, Detroit, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. Companies from Amazon and Walmart to delivery app DoorDash have started aerial deliveries over the past several years. The companies see the method as a quick and convenient way for shoppers to get online orders delivered to their homes.
Walmart, the country's largest retailer, said earlier this year it would roll out drone delivery at an additional 150 stores in partnership with Alphabet's Wing. But the rollout of the technology has been mostly sporadic and limited to specific regions. Drone operators have also faced regulatory obstacles, concerns about safety and privacy and limitations when flying in inclement weather.
Delivery drones haven't been well received in some places, with the noise factor being a main complaint by residents. Drone startups such as Zipline have worked to resolve that issue by designing systems that fly higher in the air and lower food and products down by long cables. Amazon and Walmart have also been grappling to bring down the cost per drone delivery compared with delivery by car, bike or van.
David Carbon, vice president of Amazon Prime Air, said the service provides customers with a speedier option when needed. "We've already delivered hundreds of thousands of packages to customers by drone this year, and by the end of 2026 we plan to reach customers in nearly 500 cities and towns," he said. On Monday, Uber announced it was teaming up with Zipline on drone delivery, hoping to compete for quicker turnaround times for takeout, grocery and retail orders.
In July, DoorDash secured a key certification from the Federal Aviation Administration to make commercial deliveries using drones. The company is developing its own drones, along with the ground infrastructure and digital systems needed to coordinate order pickup and delivery. Write to Gareth Vipers at [email protected] A Florida Billionaire Pays $40 Million for Ferrari EV Everyone Mocked A $21 Billion 'Kids in Chips' Startup Is Scooping Up Nvidia Talent Gen Z Has Just Discovered the Premium Rewards Credit Card Toll Brothers Records Lower Sales as Home Deliveries Decline Why Do Boards Keep Giving Misbehaving CEOs Second Chances?
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