Grace Ashiru
After getting $330 million in a Series F funding round, Zipline, a company that uses drones to transport medical supplies and blood, is now worth $4.2 billion. reta
Even though most startup unicorns don’t have better valuations in the current market, the South San Francisco-based company was able to raise the money. Zipline is now worth 55% more than two years ago when it was worth $2.7 billion.
Zipline said in a statement that it had gotten money from both new and old backers for its latest round of funding. It also said it was “well capitalized to continue to grow our operations, including launching our new home delivery service.”
The company has spread to many countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, RwandaJapan, and Ghana, where its drones were first used in 2016. It released the P2 Zip, an autonomous drone that can take eight pounds of cargo and fly up to 10 miles. It is aimed at the e-commerce market.
Keller Rinaudo and Keenan Wyrobek, who started Zipline, first wanted to corner the market for medical supplies instead of store goods. Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Slow Ventures, Katalyst Ventures, and GV, the venture firm of Google’s parent company Alphabet, are among the companies that have invested in it in the past. Zipline has now raised more than $900 million in funds.
