Autonomous delivery drone startup Zipline said Friday it reached its 1 millionth delivery to customers and is considering partnerships with restaurants in its next phase of growth.
The San Francisco-based startup designs, builds and operates autonomous delivery drones, working with clients ranging from more than 4,700 hospitals, including the Cleveland Clinic, to major brands such as Walmart and CNG. So far, it has raised over $500 million from investors including Sequoia Capital, a16z, and Google Ventures. Zipline is also a CNBC Disruptor 50 company.
The company said its zero-emission drones have now flown more than 70 million autonomous commercial miles across four continents and delivered more than 10 million products.
The millionth delivery transported two bags of intravenous fluid from a Zipline distribution center in Ghana to a local health facility.
As the company continues to grow, it will add Panera Bread in Seattle, Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston and Jet’s Pizza in Detroit.
Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton told CNBC that 70% of the company’s deliveries have occurred in the last two years and that in the future the goal is to make 1 million deliveries per day.
“The three areas where incentivizing really makes the most sense today are healthcare, fast commerce and food, and those are the three main markets we are focused on,” Rinaudo Cliffton said. . “Our goal is to work with the best brands or the best institutions in each of these markets.”
The rise of restaurant partnerships marks an “obvious transition,” he said, because of growing interest in instant food delivery. Zipline already delivers food from Walmart to customers.
“We need to start using light, fast, autonomous and zero-emission vehicles,” said Rinaudo Cliffton. “Delivering this way is 10 times faster, it’s cheaper… and compared to traditional delivery apps that most restaurants will work with, we’ll triple the service radius, which means you (get) in reality 10 times more customers who can be reached by instant delivery.”
Zipline deliveries for some Panera locations in Seattle are expected to begin next year, Ron Bellamy, the Panera franchisee’s chief operating officer, told CNBC. Deliveries continue to grow for his business, even in an inflationary environment, he said. Costs with Zipline should be comparable to third-party delivery currently, he added, with the hope that those costs will decrease over time.
“It encourages me, not just in terms of what I can do for the company, but as a consumer, I think at the end of the day, if it’s economical and it provides a better overall experience, then the consumer will speak,” Bellamy said.
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