Zipline Reports $1.5 Billion Financing Round for U.S. Drone Delivery Expansion

Zipline announced a financing round reported at $1.5 billion, with a post-money valuation of $21.5 billion. The company says it plans to put the funding toward U.S. manufacturing and hiring to support a nationwide drone-delivery network.

Key details

• Reports named Paradigm, WCM Investment Management, and Layer Global as the financing’s lead investors.
• Reported participants include Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Uber, Tiger Global, J.P. Morgan, ARK Invest, and Salesforce Ventures.
• Zipline and Walmart reportedly agreed to add 300 delivery sites under a multi-year national agreement.
• Uber reportedly set a target of one million daily deliveries with Zipline by 2029.
• Zipline reports that it completed more than one million deliveries in the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area during 2026.
• Zipline reports a median delivery time of 19 minutes from checkout in October, compared with more than 30 minutes for traditional delivery; bakery orders had a 10-minute median.
• Zipline reports that its aircraft have flown 150 million commercial autonomous miles.
• Zipline is building a delivery network in Côte d’Ivoire designed to serve more than 2,200 health facilities and 12 million people.

Zipline reports that its aircraft have completed more than one million deliveries in the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area during 2026.

Why it matters

The reported Walmart agreement would add hundreds of locations to Zipline’s U.S. delivery footprint. The company’s plans also extend beyond retail: its Côte d’Ivoire network is intended to connect health facilities with drone delivery services.