Zipline raises $250 mn; plans to advance service, expand geography

June 30, 2021: Zipline, which designs, manufactures and operates the world's largest automated on-demand delivery service, today announced $250 million in new funding, bringing the company's valuation to $2.75 billion.

"The new financing will enable Zipline to continue advancing its integrated service, including its autonomy platform, aircraft, fulfilment systems, and operations. The funding will also fuel continued expansion into new industries and geographies, transforming systems like healthcare and commerce with instant logistics," reads the release.

New investors Fidelity, Intercorp, Emerging Capital Partners and Reinvent Capital participated in the round alongside existing investors including Baillie Gifford, Temasek, and Katalyst Ventures.

Tom Slater, head of the US equities team at Baillie Gifford, said, "Zipline's delivery service has transformed national health systems and expanded access to care for millions of people. With Zipline, we can imagine a world in which anyone could have access to anything in a matter of minutes. The team has created the first automated logistics infrastructure that can support instant delivery at scale and is now rapidly expanding to serve more people and tap into the surging demand for the service around the world."

Keller Rinaudo, founder and CEO at Zipline, said, "At Zipline, our mission is to create the first logistics company that serves all humans equally. Around the world, our partners are reimagining how patients access care with fast, reliable on-demand delivery. Together, we have completed hundreds of thousands of deliveries of blood, medicines and vaccines, and today Zipline makes a commercial delivery every four minutes. In the past year, we have seen major growth in every market, including the U.S., and we're continuing to build on our proven track record and technology to bring instant logistics to more partners, communities and people."

The new funding comes after a year of record company growth during which Zipline accelerated all aspects of its global business, including:

•    Expanded its service hours in Rwanda to offer the first 24/7 autonomous delivery service in the world

•    Signed a partnership with the ministry of health in Ghana to scale to four additional distribution centres that will cover 24 million people—90 percent of the country's population

•    Helped its partners in the US and in Africa respond quickly to the Covid-19 pandemic, distributing the Covid-19 vaccine and PPE in Ghana and transporting PPE in North Carolina with Novant Health

•    Signed new partnerships with Nigeria's Kaduna and Cross River States to deliver medical supplies, including vaccines, blood and medicines

•    Entered Japan through a first-of-its-kind strategic operational partnership with Toyota Group

•    Announced a partnership with Walmart to bring on-demand delivery of health and wellness products to the U.S.

•    Partnered with Pfizer to design and test an end-to-end delivery solution to safely, efficiently, and equitably deliver all Covid-19 vaccines in countries where Zipline operates

•    Surpassed ten million autonomous miles flown, two million vaccine doses distributed and 150,000 commercial deliveries completed