DoorDash is creating a dedicated drone delivery operation that includes its own aircraft, an initiative led by the robotics and autonomy group and slated for eventual integration into the main delivery platform.

The firm introduced the new unit, named DoorDash Air, following receipt of a Part 135 air carrier certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. This approval permits the company to conduct commercial drone deliveries legally within the country.

The move does not signal immediate rollout of the custom drones for everyday orders. DoorDash offered no firm schedule for operational use. Initial activity is expected to involve restricted test programs with short flights conducted under direct visual supervision of operators.

To enable autonomous flights beyond visual range, the company will require separate FAA clearance for its Beyond Visual Line of Sight systems, a step already achieved by firms such as Amazon, Wing, and Zipline.

DoorDash will continue its current collaborations with Wing and Flytrex. The partnership with Alphabet's Wing began in Australia in 2022 and later reached select U.S. markets including Dallas-Fort Worth in 2024.

DoorDash Air originated inside DoorDash Labs, the research unit that also created Dot, the autonomous sidewalk robot unveiled in September 2025. Dot now serves areas in the Phoenix suburbs of Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, and Chandler, plus Fremont, California.

Although sidewalk robots and drones appear distant from the core marketplace model, co-founder and chief product officer Stanley Tang noted a shared goal in a Wednesday blog post.

"We did not begin by asking what impressive autonomous technology we could build," Tang wrote. "We began from core principles: what customer issue actually requires a solution?"

In the company's perspective, drones and sidewalk devices form part of an expanding delivery ecosystem. Tang stressed that both the physical equipment and the underlying software platform are essential for choosing the right delivery method in real time.

DoorDash Labs has already built the Autonomous Delivery Platform to manage these decisions, allowing coordination among Dot, human drivers, and upcoming drone flights.

Tang highlighted the company's full-stack approach, covering hardware, embedded systems, routing logic, and dynamic selection of the optimal delivery mode for each order.

This breadth of work was presented as a recruitment advantage for engineers seeking complex autonomy challenges.