DoorDash enters the drone delivery market

If your food starts descending from the sky, don't panic—it’s not a case of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It's probably just your DoorDash order.

The company launched DoorDash Air, its in-house drone delivery service, this week after receiving FAA approval to operate commercial drone deliveries in the US.

Starting this fall, customers in eligible areas will be able to choose to have smaller orders flown from a nearby launch site, with the drone lowering their food or goods to the ground via tether.

• The company hopes to speed up deliveries for orders traveling between 3-5 miles, which DoorDash says currently take ~25% longer than shorter trips due to driver availability and distance.
• Its Autonomous Delivery Platform will act as the dispatcher, choosing between drivers, drones, Dot the robot, and other delivery options based on each individual order.

Dashing to catch up

Drone delivery has quickly shifted from a Jetsons-style futuristic concept to competitive business, with DoorDash joining Amazon's Prime Air, Alphabet-owned Wing, and Zipline in expanding commercial operations.

Zoom out: The global drone delivery industry has grown from just a few hundred million dollars five years ago to ~$1.4 billion today, with analysts projecting annual growth of 35%-40% over the coming years.