Humanitarian company Zipline makes drones that deliver medical supplies to areas not easily accessed by land. Co-founder Keller Rinaudo quietly started hatching the business plan in 2011, but the company (based in Half Moon Bay, CA) didn’t come out of stealth until earlier this year, when it started using small robotic airplanes to deliver blood to clinics in Rwanda through a partnership with the country’s government. Next, it plans to start dropping off other products, such as anti-venoms, vaccines and rabies treatments.
Zipline intends to use the new funding to expand its aerial delivery system into new markets, possibly parts of Indonesia, Vietnam and the US that aren’t accessible by roads. The company had previously raised roughly $19.5 million in VC funding, including a $6.5 million round in 2012 that generated a valuation of $21.3 million. Investors include Visionnaire Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia.
Article by PitchBook
