How Zipline’s Drones Are Taking Off in the U.S. and Rivaling Amazon

2 May 2025 · 30 min · Episode 252

Episode How Zipline’s Drones Are Taking Off in the U.S. and Rivaling Amazon

0:00 30:07

After flying 100 million miles and making over 1.4 million deliveries using autonomous drones, Zipline CEO and co-founder Keller Rinaudo Cliffton is looking to transform how same-day delivery works in the U.S. His company has spent years shipping medical supplies across countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Kenya. But will Zipline become a household name by flying burritos and salads to backyards in the U.S.? And how is the startup competing with tech giants like Amazon and Alphabet? Cliffton speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast.

Correction: Zipline has flown more than 100 million commercial autonomous miles. An earlier version of this podcast incorrectly stated that it's flown 50 million miles without human pilots. (Corrected on May 2.)

Check Out Past Episodes:

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Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.

Read Tim Higgins’s column.

The Drone-Delivery Service Beating Amazon to Your Front Door

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