Zipline to Triple Its Life-Saving Drone Delivery Network with $150 Million from U.S. State Department, that will be More than Doubled by African Countries

New pay-for-performance approach expands access to blood and medicines for up to 15,000 health facilities, providing up to 130 million people with better health outcomes, saving lives and creating jobs in the U.S. and across Africa 

The U.S. government supports upfront costs of manufacturing and infrastructure expansion, and individual countries will pay for Zipline delivery services

Zipline’s autonomous logistics system has helped doctors save tens of thousands of lives. Recent research shows Zipline’s service is among the most cost effective public health interventions ever studied

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zipline, an American robotics company that designs, manufactures, and operates the world’s largest autonomous delivery system, today announced a landmark agreement with the U.S. Department of State to expand its life-saving drone delivery service across Africa – a proven and more affordable way to improve health outcomes. At full scale, the partnership could triple the number of hospitals and health facilities Zipline serves (from 5,000 to 15,000) and provide up to 130 million people with instant access to blood and medications.

Under a new pay-for-performance model — a first-of its kind from the State Department — Zipline will receive up to $150 million to expand its AI and robotics infrastructure that enables African governments to provide 24/7 delivery of essential medical supplies to hospitals and health facilities. As buyers of the service African countries will pay up to $400 million in utilization fees. Funding will be released only when governments sign expansion contracts and commit to pay for ongoing logistics services to ensure long-term sustainability.

“We started Zipline to build a logistics system that serves all people equally. Today the U.S. government is doubling down on our work, and using our AI, robotics and autonomous logistics system to improve health outcomes,” said Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, CEO and Co-Founder of Zipline. “For years presidents and prime ministers have told me they want the best of what America has to offer: innovation, jobs and 21st century technology to leapfrog into the future. That has always been America’s unique value proposition and today, the State Department is making that happen.”

“This partnership is an example of the innovative, results-driven partnership at the core of the America First foreign assistance agenda. With modest U.S. capital investment support, these five countries will become responsible for maintaining and continuing to invest in a transformative American-built health commodities supply chain network,” said ​​Under Secretary of State for Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Affairs and Religious Freedom Jeremy Lewin. “By strategically deploying assistance resources to catalyze private capital, incentivize local buy-in, and champion American businesses, President Trump’s foreign assistance agenda is bringing developing economies into the 21st century and helping America win the race for the technologies of tomorrow at the same time.”

Scaling Proven Impact
Poor logistics hinders the movement of critical goods and services that people need to live and thrive. Zipline’s infrastructure is proven to deliver better health outcomes by solving the root of many public health challenges: slow, unreliable and analog logistics that often leaves blood, medications and supplies out of stock or spoiled.

Since its first delivery in 2016, Zipline’s autonomous logistics system — designed and manufactured in the U.S. — has completed 1.8 million autonomous deliveries with zero safety incidents. With Zipline, hospitals, health facilities, and community health workers have on-demand access to a world-class pharmacy from nearly any location. Independent research shows its impact:

• Tens of thousands of lives have been saved through on-demand delivery
• Maternal deaths cut by up to 56% in Zipline-supported health facilities
• Stockouts of medicine and vaccines reduced by 60% where Zipline delivers
• Immunization rates increased 13-37 percentage points in areas where Zipline operates
• Zipline was found to be one of the most cost-effective immunization interventions ever studied, measured in incremental cost-effectiveness ratios
  

In some places where Zipline operates in Africa, the average time between when a health facility places an order to when it is delivered is 13 days. Zipline cut that to under 30 minutes for the facilities it serves in the country.

Since 2016, federal and state ministries of health in Africa have procured and paid for Zipline’s services to achieve health and economic improvements in their countries. This expansion backs these countries’ visions and multiplies the impact of African leaders and their domestic investments.

A New Model for Innovation
The partnership with the State Department signals a new era of commercial diplomacy — one that uses U.S. innovation to drive global health and economic development. This is also the State Department’s first award that uses AI, robotics and autonomous logistics to improve health outcomes. Rwanda is expected to be the first country to sign an agreement under this new model.

“African governments are choosing to invest their own resources in Zipline because it works, and it’s incredible value for money. It solves intractable global health challenges like maternal mortality, malnutrition, and under 5 mortality,” said Caitlin Burton, CEO of Zipline’s Africa business. “This award marks a pivotal moment in foreign aid — the U.S. government is backing Africa’s vision, building the infrastructure Africa wants, and accelerating the adoption of American innovation that’s proven to work and recognized as one of the most cost-effective public health interventions ever studied. It will forever change the trajectory of human health and development in Africa.”

The American financing will support the construction of new Zipline hubs, and will be released only after an African government has committed to expanding Zipline’s operations in their country to meet agreed upon metrics for success. Each Zipline hub is a permanent piece of infrastructure, staffed entirely by local employees, which creates skilled local jobs and drives economic growth.

"Rwanda and Zipline have been working together for years to harness technology for the good of our people. We have witnessed the extraordinary impact of drone delivery — saving time, saving money, and saving lives,” said Minister Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation, Government of Rwanda. “With this partnership, we will now expand to urban delivery, bringing these benefits to even more communities. We thank the U.S. Government for supporting Zipline’s expansion and for joining us in building the foundation for Africa’s future in healthcare and innovation.”

“With more than 200 million people, Nigeria faces unique challenges and opportunities in delivering healthcare equitably and efficiently. Existing Zipline operations in three Nigerian states have shown how drone delivery can transform access to healthcare — eliminating stockouts, creating new service points even where there is no health facility, driving growth in facility visits and treatment rates, and improving treatment success and health outcomes,” said Muhammad Ali Pate, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Nigeria. “We applaud the U.S. Government’s support for innovations like Zipline that can potentially advance our vision for a healthier, more equitable future for our people and are in discussions to find a sustainable path working together.”

"In Côte d’Ivoire, our priority is to guarantee every citizen rapid, reliable, and equitable access to essential health products. Since the launch of Zipline’s operations in our country, we have witnessed the concrete impact of medical drone delivery: shorter supply times, improved availability of vital products, strengthened capacities of our health facilities, and better services delivered to our populations, including those in rural and remote areas. With the expansion of this partnership, we now aim to amplify these results and extend these benefits to an even larger number of communities across the entire territory,” said Pierre Dimba, Minister of Health, Public Hygiene, and Universal Health Coverage of Côte d’Ivoire. “This approach is fully aligned with our vision of a modern, resilient health system capable of innovating to meet tomorrow’s needs. We also welcome the support of the United States Government in advancing this effort, which contributes to strengthening our health sovereignty and building an Ivorian model of excellence in health innovation.”

The Future of Logistics Is Autonomous
Today autonomous logistics reaches less than 1% of the global population. This award comes one step closer to closing that gap, and it’s only the beginning.

There is a massive opportunity to bring autonomous logistics to billions of people worldwide. This award is designed to be easily replicated by those who work in foreign aid and philanthropy: scale what works, pay for results, and enable countries to thrive long term.

When Zipline made its first delivery in 2016 it was seen as a crazy experiment. Now, the largest government in the world is doubling down on what Zipline is building and with the support of America and Africa, autonomous logistics is becoming the backbone of tomorrow's infrastructure around the world.

About Zipline
Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced autonomous delivery service. Today Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities. Zipline's customers include federal and state health systems, health care institutions, restaurants and retailers. With more than 120 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown to date, Zipline is transforming access to healthcare, consumer products, and food. Our customers rely on Zipline to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide new logistics services at scale.

For years Zipline has worked with visionary governments and philanthropic organizations willing to take bold action to improve health outcomes for tens of millions of people. Partners include the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Gates Foundation, Gavi, Pfizer, and The UPS Foundation, which have helped Zipline and its partner governments develop a wealth of empirical evidence that advances our understanding of how improved supply chain performance increases timely treatment and ultimately saves lives. For more information, visit Zipline.com/africa.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/31d97094-5de7-43af-a4e7-0fd6a6d3bacb

A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2eb1f922-9bf2-4409-af6d-60b7792acfd0

Media Contact: 
media@flyzipline.com

Zipline’s autonomous logistics system has helped doctors save tens of thousands of lives

New pay-for-performance approach expands access to blood and medicines for up to 15,000 health facilities, providing up to 130 million people with better health outcomes, saving lives and creating jobs in the U.S. and across Africa.

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