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Zipline hits $21.5B valuation as Walmart expands bet on drone delivery
TechCrunch • • business
Key Points:
- Zipline has raised $1.5 billion in funding led by Paradigm, WCM Investment Management, and Layer Global, increasing its valuation to $21.5 billion.
- The company expanded its partnership with Walmart to establish 300 drone delivery sites across the U.S., a significant increase from the current 21 active sites.
- Zipline plans to use the new funds to expand U.S. manufacturing facilities and hire more staff to build a nationwide drone delivery network.
- Founded in 2014, Zipline initially operated in Africa delivering medical supplies and has since expanded to the U.S. and Japan, using drones for food, retail, agricultural, and health product deliveries.
- The company’s delivery revenue share grew from 10.8% to 34.9% between March and October 2023, with plans to further increase this through the latest funding round.
