Following a year where demand for drone deliveries skyrocketed, Zipline, the Bay Area company behind the world’s largest autonomous delivery system, soared past two million commercial deliveries in mid-January.
The robotics firm saw U.S. deliveries grow by about 15 percent week over week for the last seven months and has its sights set on carrying that momentum throughout the new year. Zipline announced plans to expand operations to Houston and Phoenix in early 2026, with more urban areas to come later in the year, according to a Jan. 21 press release.
“Autonomous logistics is now the backbone of communities, and in 2026 it will become an everyday staple for people across several states in the U.S.,” Keller Cliffton, CEO and co-founder of Zipline, said in a press release. “That transformation starts with Houston and my hometown of Phoenix, which we’ll begin serving early this year, and then expand to even more places across the country throughout the year.”
The two-millionth commercial delivery milestone came less than two years after Zipline reached the one-million mark in April 2024. Zipline’s total commercial delivery count places it above all other companies in the sector combined.
Zipline’s next growth phase is powered by more than $600 million raised from existing and new investors, including Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Valor Equity Partners, and Tiger Global. The funds are intended to accelerate expansion into at least four new states in 2026.
The San Francisco-area company reported launching its delivery service to new areas weekly since August, with sites seeing demand rise at increasingly faster rates. In Dallas, Zipline’s first location took 10 weeks to reach 100 daily deliveries, but newer sites reached that volume in just 2 days.
Zipline comfortably outperformed its Q3 daily delivery volume target by about 30 percent. Soon, eligible customers in Houston and Phoenix will be able to order tens of thousands of items through the Zipline app, with orders arriving at their homes in as little as 10 minutes.
“Zipline’s expansion to Phoenix reflects our City’s strength as a national hub for advanced technology, autonomous systems, and jobs of the future,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in a press release. “This investment will bring affordable, faster and cleaner delivery options to our community and reinforces Phoenix’s position at the forefront of the future of logistics and mobility. Phoenix continues to be a national leader in adopting innovative technologies that improve daily life for our residents while supporting sustainable economic growth.”
Now one of the world’s fastest-growing artificial intelligence and robotics companies, Zipline is valued at $7.6 billion after the latest funding round. The company’s zero-emission aircraft have logged over 125,000,000 autonomous commercial miles, delivering more than 20,000,000 items without a serious injury.
Zipline reports a median flight time of 3 minutes, operates on four continents and conducts a delivery somewhere globally every 30 seconds. The company serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities, impacting access to healthcare, food and consumer products.
