Drone technology company Zipline, which rose to prominence flying critical medical supplies like blood bags and vaccines over rugged terrain in Rwanda, has seen the commercial side of its business boom. Deals with Walmart, and a new drone design, are making Zipline a bigger player in the world of retail and home delivery, and not only in hard-to-reach places.
On Wednesday, the company announced new delivery deals in the U.S., with nutritional supplement and wellness retail company GNC for Salt Lake City, and Seattle-area pizza chain Pagliacci Pizza for the greater Seattle metro area. Pagliacci and Zipline have created a new custom-designed pizza box to fit two 13" pizzas and side dishes in Zipline drones.
Far from its first test cases in mountainous, rural setting regions, Zipline is set on dispelling the myth that the drones can't work in high-density urban areas. "When you mention urban, people always think of New York City and Chicago, but the reality is most of the cities in the United States don't look like Manhattan or Chicago. They look more like Phoenix, Denver, LA, Houston, or Dallas.