We've all dreamt of being able to teleport. Almost without us appreciating it, the internet has made that possible, at least when it comes to sending and receiving information, including our presence (through video chat).

In fact, we handle so much through the internet that it almost seems weird to encounter the slowness of physical space. Some things just can't be beamed through a beam of electrons or photons (yet). For those things, Pipedream Labs—an incredible name by the way, for reasons you'll discover—has raised a $13M seed round to build underground pipes that conduct miniature, very high-speed (like 100 mph) train cars around a city (starting in Georgia).

One of the smartest things about this is that it uses standard PVC pipe—the same pipe already used to carry water and wiring around the city. And even with this small bore, the payload can be surprisingly big:

Here's CEO Garrett Scott explaining how it works:

Imagine how many delivery trucks, especially last-mile delivery vehicles, could be taken off the road with this. Or how quickly medical supplies or an organ for transplant could be sent to a nearby hospital.

The crazy thing is that this isn't that crazy of an idea; even since the 1850s, pneumatic tubes—pipes that used air pressure instead of robotic cars—were used to transport inter-office memos and small goods around large buildings or even between buildings. And logistics warehouses, airport baggage handling, and even some stores use automated conveyor systems to shuttle goods around.

What's different here is firstly the scale: as far as I can tell nobody has attempted to do something like this at city-wide scale, at least not recently. And secondly, the way that the system's car-based method of transport allows for handoff even to drones.

So cool.