U.S. autonomous drone delivery and logistics startup Zipline said Wednesday it will set up operations in Houston and Phoenix early this year, as part of an expansion that will be propelled by $600 million in fresh investment.
The round, which values the company at $7.6 billion, will be used to expand to at least four U.S. states in 2026, the company said. Several existing and new investors, including Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, and Tiger Global participated in the funding round.
Founded in 2014, Zipline developed its own drone delivery ecosystem, including the logistics software, launch and landing systems, and the aircraft. The company got its commercial start in 2016 using its autonomous drones to deliver blood in Rwanda. Today, Zipline’s drones deliver food, retail, agriculture, and health products in five African countries, several cities in the United States, and Japan.
Last year, Zipline launched a home delivery service in the U.S. that lets customers order food and retail goods via an app. The home delivery service uses Zipline’s Platform 2 drones, which are designed to carry up to eight pounds and travel to customers within a 10-mile radius. Its larger Platform 1 drones are used for long-range deliveries for enterprise, business, and government that can cover 120 miles round trip. The P2 platform started in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with Walmart, and more than a dozen restaurant brands, according to Zipline.
It has also announced plans to launch in Seattle. Other commercial partners include Panera, Chipotle, Crumbl, Blaze Pizza, Wendy’s, and Little Caesars.
That geographic expansion in the United States has fueled Zipline’s delivery numbers. In 2024, the company completed 1 million drone deliveries to customers; this week, Zipline said it had surpassed 2 million deliveries. The company also said its U.S. deliveries have grown by about 15% week-over-week for the last seven months.
Co-founder and CEO Keller Cliffton views 2026 as the company’s breakout year.
“Autonomous logistics has been maturing for more than a decade, and the last year has made it unmistakably clear that when deliveries are faster, cleaner, safer, and cheaper, demand isn’t just high, it grows exponentially,” Cliffton said in a statement. “In 2026 autonomous logistics will become an everyday staple for people across several states in the U.S. That transformation starts with Houston and my home town of Phoenix, which we’ll begin serving early this year, and then expand to even more places across the country throughout the year.”
Zipline isn’t alone in the nascent industry of drone delivery. Other competitors include Flytrex, DroneUp, Amazon Prime Air, and Wing, the Alphabet-owned subsidiary that has also partnered with Walmart. Wing announced plans to expand to another 150 Walmart stores through 2027.
Originally published at TechCrunch
