Zipline raises $1.5bn as Walmart signs for 300 more drone delivery sites

Zipline raises $1.5bn as Walmart signs for 300 more drone delivery sites

5 November 2026: Zipline says it has raised $1.5 billion at a post-money valuation of $21.5 billion, with the money going to US manufacturing and hiring for a nationwide drone delivery network. Alongside the round, Walmart has agreed a new national multi-year deal to launch 300 additional sites, and Uber is targeting one million deliveries a day with Zipline by 2029.

Not yet independently verified. The delivery, safety and restaurant figures are Zipline's own and we have not seen them audited. The Walmart agreement is stated by Zipline; we did not find a Walmart page confirming it. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Who put the money in

Paradigm, WCM Investment Management and Layer Global led the round. Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Uber, Tiger Global, J.P. Morgan, ARK Invest and Salesforce Ventures also took part. Zipline does not split the amount between investors. Uber is both an investor and the partner setting that delivery target.

"Zipline is now one of the largest autonomous robotics companies in the world," said Matt Huang, co-founder and managing partner of Paradigm. Anton Levy of Layer Global pointed to "a repeatable model for entering new markets".

The numbers Zipline gives for merchants

Most of the release is aimed at businesses deciding whether to add drones to their delivery mix. Zipline says it has made more than one million deliveries in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this year, and that the median order in October arrived 19 minutes after checkout, against 30 minutes or more for traditional delivery. Bakeries with short preparation times came in at a median of ten minutes.

A cohort of its longest-serving restaurants is the strongest commercial claim. Between March and October, Zipline's share of their delivery revenue went from 10.8% to 34.9%, and their delivery gross merchandise value rose 26%, with 80% of that increase coming from Zipline orders. The company says those orders were incremental and did not reduce demand from other platforms. It does not say how many restaurants are in the cohort.

Noise, range and the safety claim

Zipline recently introduced what it calls sound-optimized dynamic flying, and a next-generation aircraft designed to fly higher and more quietly with heavier orders over longer distances. It claims 150 million commercial autonomous miles without a safety incident, without defining the term. Outside the US, it says a network under construction in Côte d'Ivoire is expected to serve more than 2,200 health facilities and 12 million people.

Retail and restaurant groups weighing a contract have three questions the release leaves open: the size of that restaurant cohort, the per-order cost, and which metro areas the 300 Walmart sites will reach, and when.

Rivals in our catalogue

Wing is listed in our catalogue, which also holds 62 robot manufacturers. Zipline does not have a profile with us yet.

Sources

• Zipline newsroom: Zipline raises $1.5 billion to build nationwide drone delivery network, 5 November 2026
• TechCrunch: Zipline hits $21.5B valuation as Walmart expands bet on drone delivery, 5 November 2026