Zipline raises $1.5 billion as Walmart adds 300 drone sites

The multi-year Walmart agreement extends a partnership that began in 2021. Zipline said it will use the investment to expand U.S. manufacturing facilities and hire more workers as it builds a nationwide delivery 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.

Founded in 2014, Zipline first used autonomous drones to deliver blood in Rwanda, then expanded to Ghana and Nigeria. It began U.S. operations in 2020, transporting medical equipment and supplies for Novant Health in North Carolina. The company received Federal Aviation Administration Part 135 air carrier certification in 2022, allowing it to conduct long-range commercial drone deliveries. It has since added partnerships, including a deal with Uber earlier this year.

Zipline says it delivers food, retail, agricultural and health products in five African countries, several U.S. cities and Japan. Its Platform 2 aircraft serve home deliveries, carrying up to eight pounds within a 10-mile radius. Platform 1 drones handle longer enterprise, business and government routes, with a range of 120 miles round trip. The company said its share of delivery revenue rose from 10.8% in March to 34.9% in October this year; it aims to increase that figure with the new funding.