Zipline, the California drone delivery company, raised $1.5 billion at a $21.5 billion valuation. The round was led by Paradigm, WCM Investment Management and Layer Global, with Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, Uber, Tiger Global, J.P. Morgan, ARK Invest and Salesforce Ventures also participating. The money will go to U.S. manufacturing and hiring for a nationwide drone network.
Walmart signed a new multi-year agreement to add 300 drone delivery sites across the U.S. The partners have worked together since 2021 and currently run 21 active sites. Zipline's Platform 2 drone carries up to 8 pounds within a 10-mile radius for home delivery, while the larger Platform 1 flies up to 120 miles round trip for enterprise and government deliveries.
The company says its share of delivery revenue rose from 10.8% to 34.9% between March and October 2026. Zipline began delivering blood in Rwanda and now operates in five African countries, several U.S. cities and Japan.