A $1.5B raise has pushed Zipline to a $21.5B valuation, and the same week brought a retail deal that moves drone delivery closer to everyday infrastructure than pilot project.
Paradigm, WCM Investment Management and Layer Global led the financing. Others who joined include Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, Uber, Tiger Global, J.P. Morgan, ARK Invest and Salesforce Ventures.
The commercial news may matter more than the cheque. Walmart agreed to a fresh multi-year contract that adds 300 drone delivery sites nationwide, a leap from the 21 the partners run today, building on a relationship that dates to 2021.
From Rwandan blood runs to American rooftops
Blood deliveries in Rwanda were the company’s first business when it launched in 2014, followed by Ghana and Nigeria. American operations began in 2020, flying medical equipment and supplies to Novant Health in North Carolina, and long-range commercial work became legal once the FAA granted Part 135 carrier certification in 2022.
Zipline’s aircraft now carry food, retail goods, farm products and medical items in Japan, several US cities and five African nations. Platform 2, the smaller model, hauls up to eight pounds inside a 10-mile radius. Platform 1 flies enterprise, business and government runs as far as 120 miles round trip.
Delivery revenue is the number to watch
Between March and October, the share of revenue Zipline earns from delivery jumped from 10.8% to 34.9%, and that figure probably shaped the valuation. The new money goes toward hiring and factory capacity inside the United States, all aimed at raising it further.
Autonomous aerial logistics has plenty of believers, yet few carry both a balance sheet this large and a retailer with Walmart’s reach.
