DoorDash Just Took A Major Step Toward Drone Delivery

DoorDash is adding drone delivery as an option for customers. The company has secured Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and, with it, is introducing DoorDash Air.

DoorDash is now just the eighth drone operator to earn the certification, which authorizes the company to operate as an air carrier. The ultimate goal of DoorDash Air is to simplify deliveries for merchants, allowing them to serve customers more efficiently with faster, more seamless delivery times.

“We want drone delivery to work for any merchant, anywhere. We’re building the full stack to make that possible—from the ground infrastructure to the drone itself, and the handoff systems that make it work together seamlessly,” said Harrison Shih, Head of DoorDash Air. “Advances in hardware, compute, and AI are creating extraordinary new capabilities for local commerce, and becoming a certified air carrier accelerates everything we’re building.”

According to DoorDash, drone deliveries currently take an average of 25 minutes. In markets where the company tested the service, orders increased by 30%, suggesting strong demand for the added convenience. Drone delivery also helps reduce common challenges associated with traditional deliveries, including traffic, driver availability, and longer delivery times. In turn, merchants can fulfill more orders in less time.

DoorDash Air follows the launch of Dot, the company’s autonomous delivery robot introduced last October. It’s the latest automated addition to the DoorDash network, one of the largest local commerce platforms in the world.