South San Francisco, California (April 19, 2024) - Zipline, the world's largest automated delivery system, today became the first company in history to complete the delivery of 1 million commercial drones to customers. If Zipline's autonomous software is a human pilot, it has been in the air for more than 120 years.
Zipline's zero-emission autonomous drones have now flown more than 70 million commercial autonomous miles on four continents and delivered more than 10 million products. Demand for Zipline's services is also growing. Announced today, Zipline's Platform 2 (P2) System will also be used to deliver orders for Panera Bread, Memorial Hermann Health System and Jet's Pizza. Start with the greater Seattle, Houston and Detroit metro areas.
In the last two years alone, Zipline has completed 70 percent of its deliveries as the company expands to serve new use cases, such as retail delivery with Walmart, agricultural and animal health work in Africa, and food delivery in Japan. In the U.S., Zipline's most commonly delivered items are fresh produce, while internationally, they're child nutrition and vaccines.
"Over the last decade, we've been working hard to build a system that scales to 1 million paid customer deliveries. In the near future, I believe 1 million deliveries will be inconspicuous because we hit 1 million deliveries in a year, in a month, in a day, "said Ryan Oksenhorn, co-founder and head of software at Zipline. "Ten years from now, I think everyone will have access to clean, reliable autonomous delivery of goods and services.
Zipline is now scaling up in the U.S., thanks to the recent regulatory approval of its in-vehicle sensing system for "over-the-horizon" commercial delivery operations. Over the next few quarters, Zipline will begin rolling out P2, which is expected to serve more than 30 million people in 10 U.S. states over the next few years. Innovative companies across a wide range of industries are choosing P2 for fast, convenient, zero-emission direct delivery to people's homes, including:
Flynn Group, the world's largest franchise operator, will use Zipline to deliver from its select Panera Bread properties in the Greater Seattle metro area. Panera customers will place orders for Zipline delivery directly through Zipline's app and have orders delivered to their homes quickly and easily via drones. Flynn Group founder, Chairman and CEO Greg Flynn said, "Thanks to our partnership with Zipline, we are excited to take the guest experience we offer at Panera Bread restaurants to new heights. "Delivery delays, especially in metropolitan areas such as Seattle, are unpredictable; However, with Zipline's state-of-the-art drone technology, we are addressing these challenges and significantly reducing the wait time from the time an order is placed until guests can enjoy it.
Memorial Hermann Health System, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in Texas, will use Zipline to ship specialty prescriptions and medical equipment directly to patients' homes and to transport drugs, medical products and laboratory samples between its facilities. "As a system, we are always looking for ways to improve the patient experience and bring greater health and value to the communities we serve," said Alec King, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Memorial Hermann. "Zipline provides an innovative solution that helps our patients get the medicines they need quickly and easily, without any additional cost." The two companies are working together on all necessary regulatory approvals.
Jet's Pizza, which has more than 400 locations in 22 states, will use Zipline for delivery starting in its hometown of Detroit. Each Zipline P2 drone is capable of delivering two large Detroit-style pizzas and side dishes. "Having the best pizza in the world, if it doesn't just come out of the oven, it's okay." Zipline will allow us to expand our delivery area and deliver great hot food to more of our loyal customers, "said John Jetts, CEO of Jet's Pizza. "With Zipline, customers will get a magical and consistent end-to-end Jet experience regardless of traffic or weather."
There are approximately 4 billion instant deliveries in the United States each year, and this expansion comes at a time when more and more people are looking for consistent, convenient delivery options. Since 2019, food delivery has increased by more than 350 percent in the United States alone. ¹ Zipline customers highlight the time-saving magic of using Zipline: "I'm a busy mom, so I use Zipline for instant access to snacks, if I forget ingredients, or to cook," says one customer.
Zipline is the first and only drone delivery service to operate at this scale in multiple countries, making commercial deliveries every 70 seconds. The company has made the longest fully autonomous drone delivery flight in the United States (41 miles) and regularly flies the world's longest unmanned drone delivery flight without visual observers (130 miles).
Each Zipline delivery was made using electric zero-emission drones, which collectively saved more than 750,000 gallons of gas compared to the same delivery using a car. The Zipline 2023 Impact report shows how the system can help reduce maternal mortality, provide faster access to vaccines and improve patient outcomes worldwide.
