Zipline Raises $1.5bn at $21.5bn as Walmart Adds 300 Sites

Zipline, the drone delivery company that got its start flying blood to hospitals in Rwanda, has raised $1.5 billion at a $21.5 billion post-money valuation, it announced on Thursday, 5 November. The round was led by Paradigm, WCM Investment Management and Layer Global, with Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, Uber, Tiger Global, J.P. Morgan, ARK Invest and Salesforce Ventures taking part.

The new price is nearly three times the valuation Zipline carried in January, when it raised more than $600 million at a reported $7.6 billion, according to Tech Startups. The company says the money will go into expanding its US manufacturing and hiring as it builds a nationwide drone delivery network.

Walmart's 300 new sites

Alongside the round, Walmart and Zipline signed a new national multi-year agreement to launch 300 additional delivery sites, Zipline says. TechCrunch reports the two companies run 21 active sites together today; Walmart has worked with Zipline since 2021, and its wider drone programme has completed more than two million deliveries, according to Tech Startups.

Uber, which invested in this round, is targeting one million deliveries a day with Zipline by 2029. Zipline says more than one million deliveries were made in the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone this year, and that its median order in October arrived 19 minutes after checkout, against more than 30 minutes for traditional delivery. Those are company figures.

The company also claims its drones are growing restaurants' sales rather than taking them from other apps: among its longest-standing restaurant partners, Zipline's share of delivery revenue rose from 10.8% to 34.9% between March and October, and delivery sales rose 26%, with 80% of the increase coming through Zipline.

Related · StartupsZipline Raises $1.5B at $21.5B, Adds 300 Walmart SitesThe drone delivery company that began in Rwanda and flies vaccines in three Nigerian states is putting its biggest round yet into a US network.

Where Nigeria fits

Zipline's US consumer business now drives its valuation, but Africa is where it was built. It has operated in Nigeria since 2022, flying vaccines, medicines and medical supplies from hubs in Kaduna, Cross River and Bayelsa. It has served more than 1,300 health facilities across the three states, according to TechAfrica News, and Techpoint Africa reports 6.1 million vaccine doses delivered across about 180,000 deliveries.

The next step is national. Zipline plans 12 more distribution hubs, which it calls nests, to reach up to 100 million Nigerians by 2028, with a US government grant covering construction and the Nigerian government expected to cover running costs, Techpoint Africa reports. "All we need to make this happen is to partner with the government," Anthonio Pinheiro, Zipline's Nigeria country director, told the outlet in July. Drone flights in Nigeria still need regulatory and airspace approvals.

Zipline says its long-range medical deliveries help save more than 14,000 lives a year, and that it is building a nationwide network in Côte d'Ivoire to serve more than 2,200 health facilities and 12 million people. It says it has flown 150 million commercial autonomous miles without a safety incident.