Zipline valued at $21.5 billion after raising $1.5 billion — TechCrunch

Zipline, a company developing autonomous drone delivery in the United States, has raised $1.5 billion in investment. It was valued at $21.5 billion. At the same time, Zipline and Walmart entered into a new multi-year agreement providing for the launch of 300 drone delivery locations across the United States, TechCrunch reports.

Expansion of the partnership with Walmart

Zipline and Walmart have been collaborating in drone delivery since 2021. The companies currently operate 21 active delivery locations, so the new agreement will significantly expand their network.

The funding round was led by Paradigm, WCM Investment Management, and Layer Global. Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Uber, Tiger Global, J.P. Morgan, ARK Invest, and Salesforce Ventures also participated.

Zipline plans to use the raised funds to expand its manufacturing capacity in the United States and hire the employees needed to build a nationwide drone delivery network.

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Medical and consumer goods

Zipline was founded in 2014. Initially, the company delivered blood by autonomous drones in Rwanda and later expanded operations to Ghana and Nigeria. Zipline’s first U.S. operations began in 2020, when its drones transported medical equipment and supplies for Novant Health in North Carolina.

In 2022, Zipline received a Part 135 air carrier certificate from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. It allowed the company to make commercial long-distance drone deliveries. Since then, Zipline has entered into a number of partnerships, including with Uber.

Today, the company delivers food, retail, agricultural, and medical goods in five African countries, several U.S. cities, and Japan. Platform 2 drones for home delivery can carry loads weighing up to eight pounds within a radius of up to 10 miles. The larger Platform 1 drones are designed for long-distance deliveries for businesses, enterprises, and government entities and can travel up to 120 miles round trip.

According to Zipline, the share of revenue from deliveries increased from 10.8% to 34.9% between March and October this year.