SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, July 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zipline today announced the next phase of its U.S. expansion, including upcoming launches in Cleveland and Austin and the addition of new executives from Tesla, Waymo, and Uber, as its new Chief Financial Officer, Chief Legal Officer, and Head of Commercial, respectively. The company also announced that during the first half of 2026, the number of businesses offering delivery via the Zipline app grew 13X.
Zipline has completed more than 2.5 million commercial deliveries, including one million in the last year alone. Today, Zipline operates more flights per day than major U.S. airlines, and every Zipline flight is fully autonomous. Roughly 70% of them take place in the United States.
New Markets and Increased Momentum
In July Zipline will launch its first U.S. healthcare home delivery service with Cleveland Clinic, beginning in the Beachwood suburb of Cleveland. Eligible patients will be able to opt-in to receive certain prescription deliveries at home at no additional cost. Over time, the program will expand to include deliveries of lab samples, medically tailored meals, medical and surgical supplies, and hospital-at-home materials between Cleveland Clinic facilities.
In the coming months, Zipline will launch operations in Austin, where customers will be able to receive food and retail deliveries from local businesses in as little as five minutes through the Zipline app.
Businesses are Adopting Zipline Faster than Ever
During the first half of 2026, the number of businesses offering delivery through Zipline grew 13X. Today customers can order from national brands like Chipotle as well as local favorites such as Anothai Cuisine in Houston and Amelia’s Cocina Mexicana in Rowlett.
And momentum is continuing. Wonder recently announced that it will use Zipline delivery at 50 of their upcoming Texas foodhalls. Little Caesars is expanding Zipline delivery from five locations to 65 locations in the coming months. New businesses are signing up to use the Zipline delivery network every week.
Building the Team to Scale this Next Stage of Growth
To support its expansion, Zipline added three key executives to its leadership team.
Sendil Palani joins as Chief Financial Officer after 17 years at Tesla, where he most recently served as Vice President of Finance. He joined Tesla when the company produced just one vehicle per day and helped guide its growth, financials and global expansion.
Kevin Vosen joins as Chief Legal Officer after serving nearly seven years as Chief Legal Officer at Waymo. Prior to Zipline, Kevin most recently served as Chief Administrative and Legal Officer at Ohalo.
Allen Penn joins Zipline as Head of Commercial. He previously helped grow Uber from 25 employees to more than 25,000, led its expansion across Asia, and global operations at Uber Eats. Penn now leads Zipline’s commercial strategy and execution as the company expands.
“Zipline has an incredibly talented team working toward an inspiring mission. This is a special opportunity to help save and improve lives globally, while reducing cost and energy use at scale,” Palani said. “I am excited to join at such a transformational moment, given the strong foundation the team has built, and the tremendous momentum behind its new products, partnerships, and growth.”
“Zipline is solving complex problems with meaningful real-world impact and the company is at a unique point in its journey,” said Vosen. “Zipline’s next chapter is about making its experience accessible to communities worldwide while continuing our track record of safe, trusted operations.”
A Decade of Progress is Rapidly Accelerating
Zipline spent the last decade building the world’s largest autonomous delivery network. That has led to:
- More than 60K lives saved. And today, Zipline’s medical deliveries help save more than 12,000 lives per year.
- A 22% reduction in childhood deaths from severe malnutrition.
- A 51% reduction in maternal mortality.
- More than 135 million commercial autonomous miles flown, and 20 million items delivered, without a safety incident. For context, that’s the same as driving on all roads in America 32 times, which would result in more than 600 crashes, more than 100 injuries and at least 1 fatality.
In fact, some Zipline aircraft have now flown more than 1 million miles. For context, the average car in the U.S. drives 150,000 miles in its lifetime.
Over the last decade, Zipline has proven autonomous delivery works. Now we’re scaling it and bringing it to millions more people. More businesses are joining the network, more customers are using it every day, and we’re building a team that can bring this experience to millions more people.
About Zipline
Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. Today its zero emission aircraft operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 20 seconds, and serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities. With more than 135 million commercial autonomous miles flown to date, Zipline is transforming access to healthcare, consumer products, and food. Our customers rely on Zipline to save lives, save them time, increase economic opportunity, and provide logistics at scale. For more information, visit Zipline.com
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