A South San Francisco startup developing autonomous delivery drones has raised more than $300 million in a Series F round that also pushed its valuation up by more than 50%.
Zipline International Inc. raised at least $330 million from undisclosed investors, according to Forbes. The round also includes a provision for a potential $20 million extension.
The company's valuation jumped to $4.2 billion, up from $2.7 billion in 2021 when it raised a $250 million Series E. Previous investors have included Singapore's Temasek Holdings, Goldman Sachs Group, Toyota Tsusho, TPG, Andreessen Horowitz, GV, Felicis, Sequoia, SV Angel and UPS, according to PitchBook.
I've reached out to Zipline, led by CEO Keller Rinaudo, and will update this story if I hear back.
Zipline has been developing autonomous delivery drones with an initial focus on delivering blood and medical supplies, though the company's website touts its ability to serve other industries, including retail, food service and agriculture.
It was founded in 2011 as a robotic toy company by Rinaudo Cliffton, but he pivoted to drones with co-founder and CTO Keenan Wyrobek.
In 2016, they launched their first drones in Rwanda and the company now has operations in the U.S., Japan and five African countries: Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Côte D’Ivoire, according to its website.
Zipline primarily operates its commercial drone services in emerging markets where there are fewer regulatory hurdles than in the U.S., although the Federal Aviation Administration issued the company a waiver in 2020 allowing Zipline to deliver Covid-19 supplies.
The company partnered with North Carolina-based Novant Health in 2020 to deliver personal protective equipment like masks after receiving a waiver to do so from the Federal Aviation Administration, Axios reported at the time.
Last year, the FAA also approved Zipline for an additional certification that allowed it to continue expanding its operations in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported.
In the U.S., the company serves customers in three states — Arkansas, Utah and North Carolina — and will expand to Michigan and Washington next year.
Zipline says its drones can carry up to eight pounds of goods within a 10-mile radius and drop its payload in a targeted area within a 2-feet-wide accuracy level.
Its drones were also named by Time Magazine as one of the best inventions of 2022.
