New York City — Olo Inc., a leading restaurant technology provider, has formed a strategic partnership with Zipline, the world’s most experienced and advanced autonomous delivery service, to integrate drone delivery capabilities into the Olo platform. Expected to launch in early 2026, the integration will enable restaurant brands using Olo Rails to offer Zipline’s autonomous drone delivery as a fulfillment option, streamlining operations while expanding their reach to serve more guests faster, more conveniently and more efficiently.
Olo Rails consolidates orders from third-party marketplaces directly into restaurants’ point-of-sale systems and kitchen displays, unifying workstreams, eliminating manual entry and reducing errors. By integrating Zipline’s drone delivery service into Rails, Olo is creating a connected platform where brands can manage traditional and autonomous delivery channels from a single source, simplifying operations as they adopt next-generation logistics solutions.
The partnership comes as the drone delivery market experiences explosive growth and as guests increasingly expect and want faster, on-demand service.
“Olo is committed to powering the restaurant of the future, partnering with cutting-edge technology providers that help restaurants run more efficiently and serve more guests nationwide,” says Noah Glass, founder and CEO at Olo. “As brands embrace innovative technologies to automate low-touch tasks such as delivery, we’re ensuring our platform evolves with them.”
Zipline has established itself as the global leader in autonomous delivery, with nearly 2 million commercial deliveries completed. Zipline now serves customers in almost 20 cities across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, including many restaurant brands. Zipline operates on four continents. Delivery flights are often under 5 minutes and Zips are thermally insulated to maintain food quality. Today Zipline delivers orders up to 5.5 pounds, and plans to increase to 8 pounds over time.
“Olo has built an extensive network of enterprise and emerging restaurant brands that are perfectly positioned to benefit from the rise of autonomous delivery,” says Chris Kenney, vice president of partnerships at Zipline. “Through this partnership, we’re making drone delivery accessible to innovative, forward-thinking brands of all sizes, so that they can enhance guest experiences while reducing operational complexity and environmental impact. People love getting food Zipped to them — it keeps hot items hot, cold things cold, and brings dinner for the whole family in a magical delivery experience.”
For more information, visit https://www.olo.com/rails.
Olo is a leading restaurant technology provider with ordering, payment, and guest engagement solutions that help brands increase orders, streamline operations and improve the guest experience. Each day, Olo processes millions of orders on its open SaaS platform, gathering the right data from each touchpoint into a single source. Over 750 restaurant brands trust Olo and its network of more than 400 integration partners. For more information, visit www.olo.com.
Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced autonomous delivery service. Today Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities. Zipline’s customers include federal and state health systems, health care institutions, restaurants and retailers.
SOURCE: Olo