Zipline snaps up another $200M to fuel its drone delivery expansion

U.S. autonomous drone delivery startup Zipline has raised another $200 million. The additional funds, which included participation from crypto investment firm Paradigm, have pushed the recent Series H round to $800 million. Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners and Tiger Global participated in the initial tranche that valued the drone delivery startup at $7.6 billion. Founder and chief executive Keller Cliffton said in a video message posted on X that things have moved a little faster than expected. The funds are being used to accelerate Zipline's expansion to at least four U.S. states this year. The company has announced Houston, Phoenix and Seattle as new markets. Zipline has seen considerable growth in a home delivery service that launched last year in the United States. Delivery volume growth beat its forecast in January and February. Cliffton said the company is expecting to accelerate its growth over the next three months relative to 2025, driven In the last three weeks the average amount of stuff per basket increased The startup is still intent on growing its services outside of the United States. Cliffton noted that Zipline just closed a new national-scale contract across Rwanda that will allow it to launch its Platform 2 autonomous drone delivery service in major cities there. Zipline is also opening a third distribution center to help it serve every single hospital and health facility throughout the country.