Theory of Change: #17: Zipline's global drone delivery vision
Devex Podcasts

Theory of Change: #17: Zipline's global drone delivery vision

B2Upper-intermediateOctober 8, 20261 hr 2 min
  • Interview

The California-based drone delivery company Zipline made waves last year when it secured a $150 million pay-for-performance grant from the U.S. State Department to scale up its operations in Africa. That announcement came just months after the State Department took control of the U.S. government’s foreign aid portfolio in the wake of USAID’s dismantling, and the deal with Zipline was portrayed as an emblem of the new direction of U.S. global health aid. One year later, Zipline is working through the sometimes arduous process of negotiating with partner country governments over the terms of their expansion. But...

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Earlier this year, the world's largest drone delivery company, Zipline, announced a major new partnership with Uber. Soon, if you live in the United States, you may be able to order a salad on UberEats and have it dropped from the sky by an autonomous robot.

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The deal sent Zipline's projected valuation soaring into the tens of billions of dollars. But if you live in Rwanda, this is actually old news. That's where the company began its operations. In many respects, it's where Zipline built its model.

0:45

Not around food and consumer goods, but with life-saving blood deliveries. At the same time the company is supercharging its U.S. operations, it also continues to expand across the African continent. Last year, Zipline and the U.S. State Department entered into a $150 million pay for performance

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