Zipline raises $1.5 billion and signs 300-site Walmart deal

In brief: Zipline secured $1.5 billion in new funding at a $21.5 billion valuation on 5 November 2026 and signed a multi-year agreement with Walmart to add 300 sites across the United States. Paradigm, WCM Investment Management and Layer Global led the round.

Autonomous logistics company Zipline announced on 5 November 2026 that it has raised $1.5 billion in new funding and signed a multi-year agreement with Walmart to add 300 drone delivery sites across the United States. The funding round values the California-based company at $21.5 billion, up from a $7.6 billion valuation in January 2026 when it raised more than $600 million. Paradigm, WCM Investment Management and Layer Global led the latest round, with participation from Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Uber, Tiger Global, J.P. Morgan, ARK Invest and Salesforce Ventures.

Expanding Walmart partnerships

The new agreement with Walmart expands an existing partnership that began in 2021 and currently operates across 21 active sites. Walmart runs the largest retail drone delivery programme in the United States, having completed more than 2 million deliveries to date, and notes that 90% of the US population lives within 10 miles of one of its stores. Through the Walmart app, Walmart.com or the Zipline app, eligible customers can order from tens of thousands of items for delivery to their front yard, backyard or driveway in 10 to 30 minutes.

“Walmart’s stores put us close to the communities we serve. With Zipline, we can build on that proximity and bring this fast delivery option to even more customers across the country,” said Greg Cathey, senior vice president of eCommerce Fulfillment Transformation at Walmart. Zipline CEO and co-founder Keller Cliffton noted that customers now order multiple times a day, five years after the companies' first deliveries together. Earlier in 2026, Zipline also partnered with Uber to integrate its service into Uber Eats, starting in existing markets before expanding to new cities.

Aircraft architecture and delivery performance

Zipline develops its own aircraft, launch and landing systems, and logistics software. Its home delivery service uses Platform 2 drones, which carry up to eight pounds within a 10-mile radius. During delivery, the aircraft stays roughly 330 feet above the ground while a pod holding the order descends on a tether, a two-part architecture designed for quiet and safe operations. For enterprise, business and government clients, the company operates larger Platform 1 aircraft capable of covering 120 miles round trip. Globally, Zipline has flown 150 million commercial autonomous miles without a major safety incident.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the company completed more than one million deliveries during 2026, recording a median delivery time in October of 19 minutes from checkout, or 10 minutes for bakery orders requiring little preparation. Among a selected group of established partner restaurants, Zipline's share of delivery revenue rose from 10.8% to 34.9% between March and October 2026. Those restaurants reported a 26% increase in delivery gross merchandise value, with Zipline accounting for 80% of that growth through orders the company said represented new business rather than sales diverted from other platforms.

Regulatory background and global operations

Founded in 2014, Zipline began operations in Africa by delivering blood in Rwanda before expanding to Ghana and Nigeria. It started US operations in 2020 delivering medical supplies to Novant Health in North Carolina, and in 2022 received Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), authorising long-range commercial drone deliveries. The company now serves five African countries, Japan and several US cities, reaching more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities.

What happens next

Zipline plans to use the $1.5 billion investment to expand its US manufacturing facilities, hire more workers and build out a nationwide delivery network, while developing next-generation aircraft to carry heavier orders further and more quietly. Working with Uber, the company aims to reach one million drone deliveries per day by the end of 2029.

Read more: Morocco’s ABA Life signs $40 million deal with Admaius Capital Partners · Adtech startup Journify raises $12 million Series A at fourfold valuation increase · Maalexi raises $2.8m to build regulated agricultural exchange

Sources: TechCrunch, Walmart, DRONELIFE

Fact-checked against the linked sources before publication. Spotted an error? See our Corrections Policy.

Spotted an error? Email corrections@itmagazineme.com with the article link.