Zipline is an American robotics company that designs, manufactures, and operates autonomous delivery drones. Founded in 2014, it has grown into what it describes as the world's largest autonomous delivery service, with operations spanning multiple continents including the United States and Rwanda. Its systems are used to transport food, groceries, medicine, and other goods.
The company's technical work spans robotics, autonomous systems, drone technology, and electric vehicle engineering. It operates two primary delivery platforms: Platform 1, designed for long-range rural deliveries, and Platform 2, which handles precise urban home delivery. The scale of its operations is significant - the company states it makes a delivery every 20 seconds somewhere in the world, has flown over 135 million autonomous miles, and has delivered to more than 5,000 hospitals and health centers.
Zipline's work is concentrated in healthcare logistics, food delivery, grocery delivery, and general goods delivery. The company describes its culture as driven by urgency and impact, with engineers and operators working in small, cross-functional teams that have direct ownership of outcomes. It operates with a remote-first approach, minimising meetings in favour of deep work, and states that teams ship code and hardware improvements daily.
