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Zipline

[PRIVATE]

Drones · HQ: South San Francisco, California · Est. 2014 · 3 models registered · 31 deployments

New deploymentRecent pressRecent incident
SiteRisk Profile

As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies Zipline: 3 models, 30 deployments across 13 regions, $2.9B raised, 2 active incidents. 30 sources back the record.

Ownership

PRIVATE

Capital / Funding

$2.9B

Headquarters

South San Francisco, California

IP / Patents

18 Active

Platform Models

3

Audited Incidents

1

Overview

American autonomous drone-delivery company (South San Francisco, founded 2014 by Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Keenan Wyrobek, Ryan Oksenhorn, and Will Hetzler). Began with medical delivery in Rwanda and Ghana and expanded to US commercial and healthcare delivery; surpassed 2 million commercial deliveries and raised over $600M in January 2026 at a $7.6B valuation. Operates under FAA Part 135 air-carrier certification.

Audited Posture AssessmentPeer Percentile: 100.0%

Well-capitalized with $2.9B raised and recent funding activity. Strong deployment footprint with 37 operational sites across 35 countries. Thin IP estate relative to category peers.

  • AERIAL

Key Facts

Founded2014, South San Francisco, California
FoundersKeller Rinaudo Cliffton (CEO), Keenan Wyrobek (CTO)
ProductZipline P2 and P3 autonomous delivery drones; fixed-wing with tethered package release; delivers to porch or locker
Funding$600M+ (Jan 2026, total ~$1.2B+); prior rounds: A $2M; B $25M; C $120M; D $190M; E $250M; total ~$587M pre-2026
Valuation$7.6B (Jan 2026); prior $2.75B (2021)
CountriesRwanda (2016), Ghana (2019), Nigeria, Kenya, Cote d'Ivoire, Japan, US (North Carolina, Utah, Arkansas)
Deliveries2M+ commercial deliveries (Jan 2026 milestone); 40+ million vaccine doses; largest autonomous drone delivery network globally
LeadershipOkeoma Morant (COO), Ezra Czyzyk (VP Engineering)
Patents2 USPTO patents (tethered delivery, sense-and-avoid) under Zipline assignee
RegulatoryFAA Part 135 air carrier certificate (2022, first for drone delivery); beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) approvals
Houston drone nestDrone delivery nest site operational in Houston, TX (2026)
Phoenix drone nestDrone delivery nest site operational in Phoenix, AZ (2026)
P2 autonomous dockingPlatform 2 drones dock and recharge autonomously — 155-mile roundtrip range per charge

Claims & Reality Assessment

4 entries

Audited Corporate Claims Ledger

  • [OPEN]Timeline
    Claimed: Jan 1, 2026

    “Zipline is expanding to Texas (Wonder partnership). BayCare partnership covers Florida. Operating in multiple states already. "Four states" may already be met or close to met. https://dronelife.com/2026/06/30/restaurant-drone-delivery-wonder-zipline-texas/”

    Sources:claim sourcestatus evidencecite this claim
  • [VERIFIED]Capability
    Claimed: Jan 1, 2026

    “130M+ autonomous miles confirmed on Zipline fact sheet. 2M+ commercial deliveries. This claim is verified — Zipline is the largest commercial autonomous delivery system by miles flown. https://www.zipline.com/about/zipline-fact-sheet”

    Sources:claim sourcestatus evidencecite this claim
  • [VERIFIED]Safety
    Claimed: Jan 1, 2026

    “Zipline's own fact sheet, consistent with Wikipedia (2M+ deliveries, 120M+ miles). Multi-continent operations confirmed (Rwanda, Ghana, US, expanding). One delivery every 30 seconds = ~1M deliveries/year rate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipline_(drone_delivery_company)”

    Sources:claim sourcestatus evidencecite this claim
  • [PARTLY TRUE]Capacity
    Claimed: Apr 19, 2024

    “Zipline hit 1M total deliveries in April 2024 (cumulative, not daily). As of January 2026, 2M+ cumulative deliveries. A delivery every 30 seconds = ~2,880/day. The 1M/day target is far from current rate. Zipline is expanding rapidly (BayCare, Wonder, Texas) but 1M/day by October 2026 is highly ambitious. https://www.zipline.com/about/zipline-fact-sheet”

    Sources:claim sourcestatus evidencecite this claim

Safety & Regulatory Posture

2 entries
Audited Incident & Recall FootprintLatest event: Sep 2026

2 incidents on record (1 moderate, 1 minor). Most recent: Sep 2026.

minor: 1moderate: 1

Evidentiary Regulatory Filings & Recalls

  • us_faa[cleared]us_faa
  • us_faa[active]us_faa
    Jun 22, 2022

Leadership & Founders

9 entries

Current Program Leadership & Executives

Keenan Wyrobeksecondary-verified

Co-Founder & Head of Product/Engineering, Co-founder & CTO / Head of Product & Engineering, Co-Founder, CTO & Product Architect

Keller Rinaudo Clifftonsecondary-verified

Co-founder & CEO

Ezra Czyzyksecondary-verified

executive

Okeoma Morantsecondary-verified

executive

Founding Team

Keller Rinaudo Cliffton[Founder]

cofounder · founded 2014-01-01

Keenan Wyrobek[Founder]

cofounder · founded 2014-01-01 · Willow Garage

Will Hetzler[Founder]

cofounder · founded 2014-01-01 · no longer at company

Ryan Oksenhorn[Founder]

cofounder · founded 2014-01-01

Keenan Wyrobek[Founder]

cofounder · founded 2014-01-01 · Willow Garage

Key Former Leadership (4 Tracked)

Will HetzlerCo-founder & former COO
Matt SteckmanChief Revenue Officer
Josh LiuEngineer
Manal HabibFlight Controls Engineer

Partnerships & Commercial Deployments

6 entries
Total Tracked4
Operating2
Announced2
Concluded0

Key Recurring Partners

Uber3 · 1× joint · 31 total

Recent Verified Partnerships

  • Uber x Zipline drone deliveryAug 17, 2026

    MOST RECENT · Uber x Zipline drone delivery · 2026-08-17 · with Uber · JUST ANNOUNCED · Zipline x Cleveland Clinic (Drone Prescription Delivery) · 2026-08-03 · with Cleveland Clinic · OPERATING · Zipline x BayCare Health Drone Delivery · 2026-07-01 · with BayCare Health System · OPERATING · Zipline x Wonder · 2026-06-30 · with Wonder · JUST ANNOUNCED

Operator Customers & Fleet Integrators

Zipline - 30 deploymentsZipline

Patents & Intellectual Property

18 entries
Active IP Portfolio (18 Filings Tracked)

Platform Models

3 entries
Zipline Platform 1 (Zip)[PRODUCTION][2016–2019]

Zipline's fixed-wing long-range delivery drone ('Zip') that air-drops packages by parachute; the workhorse of its Rwanda/Ghana medical-delivery networks and long-range US routes.

drones · 5 deployments

Risk Profile
Zipline Platform 2 (P2)[COMMERCIAL][2024–2026]

Zipline's second-generation precision-delivery system: a fixed-wing drone that hovers and lowers a tethered 'droid' to place packages accurately at homes and businesses.

drones · 24 deployments

Risk Profile
Zipline Zip[COMMERCIAL][2022]

Zipline Zip autonomous delivery drone for medical supplies, blood, and vaccines.

drones · 2 deployments

Risk Profile

Deployments

31 entries

Incidents affecting Zipline

1 entry

Autonomy Stacks & Software

1 entry
  • Zipline Autonomy (Acoustic Detect-and-Avoid)Autonomy Brain

Sectors & Applications

2 entries
Drones/Service & Cobot Robotics/

FAQ

15 entries
What is Zipline?

American autonomous drone-delivery company (South San Francisco, founded 2014 by Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Keenan Wyrobek, Ryan Oksenhorn, and Will Hetzler). Began with medical delivery in Rwanda and Ghana and expanded to US commercial and healthcare delivery; surpassed 2 million commercial deliveries and raised over $600M in January 2026 at a $7.6B valuation. Operates under FAA Part 135 air-carrier certification.

What does Zipline make?

Zipline has 3 robot models on the DEPLOY registry: Zipline Zip, Zipline Platform 2 (P2), Zipline Platform 1 (Zip) (Zipline builds both physical robots and the AI that runs them).

Is Zipline publicly traded?

No. Zipline is privately held and not publicly traded, per the DEPLOY registry.

Who competes with Zipline?

On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Zipline building in the same form factors include Amazon, Anduril Industries, DJI, Autel Robotics.

Who is the CEO of Zipline?

Keller Rinaudo Cliffton is the ceo of Zipline, per the DEPLOY registry.

How can I invest in Zipline?

Zipline is a private company; its shares are not available on public markets, so retail investors cannot buy the stock today. It has raised $2.9B in disclosed funding.

Where is Zipline headquartered?

Zipline is headquartered in South San Francisco, California, USA.

How much funding has Zipline raised?

Zipline has raised approximately $2.9B in disclosed funding on record in the DEPLOY registry.

Who owns Zipline?

Zipline is privately held and venture-backed ($2.9B raised); ownership sits with its founders and private investors.

Where does Zipline operate robots?

Zipline operates 30 verified deployments, including at Dallas, Texas, USA, Houston, TX and Phoenix, AZ, USA, Austin, Texas, USA.

How many robots has Zipline deployed?

DEPLOY has 30 verified Zipline deployments on record at sites including Dallas, Texas, USA, Houston, TX and Phoenix, AZ, USA, Austin, Texas, USA. That is a count of distinct field deployments each backed by sourced evidence, not a manufacturer's claimed unit total; it updates as new sites are verified.

Is Zipline a top robotics company?

On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, Zipline ranks in roughly the top under 1% of companies tracked by the registry.

When was Zipline founded?

Zipline was founded in 2014.

Are there any incidents involving Zipline?

2 active incidents involving Zipline are on the DEPLOY registry. Each is a sourced, append-only record; retracted incidents are suppressed from this view.

Is Zipline safe?

Zipline has 2 active incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. 2 incidents on record (1 moderate, 1 minor). Most recent: Sep 2026. Retracted incidents are excluded from this count.