Amazon · Fortune Technology
Thirteen years ago, Jeff Bezos strode into a room on the set of CBS’ 60 Minutes and revealed Amazon’s first
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On Wednesday, it took a step forward, announcing plans to expand drone delivery to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of this year, which it said represents a sixfold increase in its drone network footprint and will total tens of millions of customers.
Key facts
- Thirteen years ago, Jeff Bezos strode into a room on the set of CBS’ 60 Minutes and revealed Amazon’s first delivery drone, predicting 30-minute drop-offs of airborne packages within the next four
- Amazon subsidizes its vast delivery system with the fees it collects through its third-party sellers, as well as the more than 200 million Prime members it has (who each pay $139 a year)
- It’s still clearly a work in progress, but they have a vision that this is one of the best ways to get things to people in less than 45 minutes,” said Josh Lowitz, co-founder of Consumer
- In 2020, Amazon replaced the visionary founder of the project, Gur Kimchi, with former Boeing executive David Carbon
Summary
Thirteen years ago, Jeff Bezos strode into a room on the set of CBS’ 60 Minutes and revealed Amazon’s first delivery drone, predicting 30-minute drop-offs of airborne packages within the next four to five years. Amazon said its drone deliveries are expanding to the Chicago, Syracuse, Cleveland, and Atlanta areas, among other metro areas and towns, though it didn’t make clear how many deliveries it expects per day or how large its fleet of drones will be in each location. Delivery is free for Prime members who spend $50 or more. The company’s current drone delivery operations include San Antonio, Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Kansas City, Kansas; and eight other areas.