πŸ›©οΈ Zipline surpasses 2 million drone deliveries and expands to new cities

πŸ›©οΈ Zipline surpasses 2 million drone deliveries and expands to new cities

Zipline has completed over 2 million commercial deliveries with autonomous drones and flown more than 125 million miles without serious injuries. Zipline started in 2016 by delivering blood and medical products in Rwanda.

Mathias Sundin
Mathias Sundin

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  • Zipline has completed over 2 million commercial deliveries with autonomous drones and flown more than 125 million miles without serious injuries.
  • Zipline started in 2016 by delivering blood and medical products in Rwanda.
  • The company has secured $600 million in funding and is now valued at $7.6 billion.

From blood deliveries in Rwanda to global expansion

Zipline started in 2016 by delivering blood and medical products in Rwanda. Since then, the company has expanded to food, retail, agricultural products, and animal health products. Today, Zipline operates in eight countries across four continents.

The company has two platforms – one for long-range deliveries and one for precise home deliveries. Zipline has delivered to thousands of homes, hospitals, and businesses in the US, Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Japan.

Deliveries in under 10 minutes

Zipline's delivery system demonstrates strong operational efficiency. The median flight time is 3 minutes. Customers in Houston and Phoenix can receive their orders in as little as 10 minutes via the Zipline app.

Deliveries in the US have increased by approximately 15 percent week over week for the past seven months. Zipline's first location in Dallas needed 10 weeks to reach 100 deliveries per day. Newer locations reach the same volume in just 2 days.

The company exceeded its daily delivery target for the third quarter by approximately 30 percent. The fourth quarter target was reached six weeks early.

Safety record without serious injuries

Zipline's zero-emission aircraft have flown more than 125 million autonomous commercial miles and delivered over 20 million items. During this time, no serious injuries have been reported.

By comparison, approximately 120 million miles of driving on American roads typically results in approximately 600 crashes, about 100 injuries, and at least one fatality, according to data from the US traffic safety authority NHTSA.

Expansion to more states

The new funding will accelerate expansion to at least four additional states in 2026. Houston and Phoenix are the first new markets. Zipline currently delivers food, retail goods, and healthcare products directly to customers' homes. Tens of thousands of products are available through the company's delivery platform.

Zipline CEO Keller Cliffton says that autonomous logistics has been developing for over a decade. According to him, the past year has made it clear that when deliveries are faster, cleaner, safer, and cheaper, demand grows exponentially.

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