The largest commercial autonomous system on earth isn't a robotaxi fleet — it's Zipline, which has flown 140 million autonomous miles with zero safety incidents. Co-founder Keller Rinaudo Cliffton and Eric Watson, who leads systems engineering and safety, explain why the drone itself is only 15% of the solution. The rest spans inventory management, air traffic integration, and engineering systems such as a dual flight computer failover protocol that recently saved a delivery mid-flight. They trace Zipline's path from launching blood delivery in Rwanda in 2016 (when drone delivery was illegal in the US) to a 51% reduction in maternal mortality in that country, a $550 million commercial diplomacy partnership with the State Department, and a cost curve that fell from $300 per delivery to $12. Zipline is now racing toward a million deliveries a day, and a quiet inflection point when autonomous delivery becomes cheaper than sending a car.
Hosted by Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, Sequoia Capital
Autonomous drone delivery has long been the stuff of science fiction, but ongoing advances have moved the space from experimental to operational. Zipline is one of the leading companies in this space, with drones that charge between missions and fly autonomously to deliver packages directly to customers.
Kyle Madonia is the VP of Application Software and IT at Zipline, and she previously spent a decade as an engineer at SpaceX. In this episode, Kyle joins Gregor Vand to discuss how Zipline’s software stack powers end-to-end autonomous delivery, the engineering challenges of managing drone fleets at scale, and how the team approaches software releases for safety-critical systems.
Gregor Vand is a security-focused technologist, having previously been a CTO across cybersecurity, cyber insurance and general software engineering companies. He is based in Singapore and can be found via his profile at vand.hk or on LinkedIn.
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Today’s show:
Zipline founder Keller Cliffton started his company with a simple premise: build automated logistics that serve everyone equally. The only problem? It was literally illegal in the US.
In this live recording from LaunchFest in San Francisco, Keller shares how Zipline went from a 20-person team working on a cow farm in Rwanda to operating the largest commercial autonomous system on Earth. They now complete 130 million autonomous miles with zero accidents, while reducing maternal mortality by 51% in the regions they serve.
PLUS we’ve got Rahul Vohra from Superhuman taking us through his entire founder journey, and discussing with Jason why “difficult” founders are often the smartest investments.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:16 Keller Cliffton starts off the show
3:05 Starting Zipline in Africa
8:40 The magic of sky maps
13:55 Building the drone was just the beginning
15:11 Making a huge difference in maternal mortality
23:48 The threats of Little Evil Jimmy and dogs
29:37 The shift from Rwanda to Dallas
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32:28 The moral clarity of the mission
41:17 The challenge of staying focused
46:43 Rahul Vohra of Superhuman joins Jason
49:40 Building Rapportive in Cambridge
51:48 Scaling to millions of users via APIs
1:11:46 How getting acquired made Rahul fearless
1:12:31 The boldness of taking on Gmail
1:22:12 Making everyone pay for the product
1:31:24 Inside the Grammarly-Superhuman deal
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Today’s show:
On today’s TWIST episode, Alex interviews two of the top startup co-founders: Keller Cliffton of Zipline and Anastasis Germanidis of Runway.
Zipline announced its $600 million raise at a $7.6 BILLION valuation. Kellers breaks down the origins, economics, and future of Zipline’s contrarian bet in drone delivery. What was science fiction a decade ago is now a regular part of life for many. In fact, Zipline operates more flights than United!
Zipline is set to leapfrog the car delivery apps AND self driving cars with the superior economics of drone delivery. It is much cheaper to transport your burrito in a lightweight drone than a 6,000 pound self driving car!
Then, Alex is joined by Anastasis Germanidis, the CTO and co-founder of Runway, to explain why the next frontier of generative AI is world models! Runway is looking to build a universal simulation, which will unlock massive gains in robotics, autonomy, and simulations. The world model would be able to simulate rare edge cases that could take years to find naturally!
Check out how this cutting edge AI startup’s NYU Tisch School of Art’s origins
Then, See Jason’s answer to the question: “When should founders pivot or give up?”
Timestamps:
(00:00) The Drone revolution is here!
(02:46) Inside Zipline’s factory to build 20K drones a year
(04:40) American dynamism Vs. Chinese manufacturing dominance
(09:00) How Zipline is growing 75% month on month
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(11:15) Zipline teleports food and goods to your house
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(23:02) Is it affordable to use a drone to deliver a burrito?
(29:18) Zipline DOUBLES United’s flight numbers
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(32:21) Anastasis break’s down Runway’s AI modeling
(35:24) Runway’s Gen 4.5 and the world model
(40:57) Why do robotics companies need a world model?
(43:04) Using AI to simulate robot laundry folding
(52:37) Runway’s origins at NYU’s art school
(55:46) Founder Q/A: When to pivot or give up on your startup
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We’re joined by Zipline cofounder / CTO, Keenan Wyrobek. Zipline is on a mission to build the world’s first logistics system that serves all people equally via their fleet of autonomous drones that started in Africa delivering medical supplies and can now deliver packages (up to 8 lbs) directly to your door. They’ve solved a lot of gnarly technical and regulatory challenges along the way. We go deep with Keenan. We hope you’ll find this one fascinating.
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Show Notes:
Zipline drone delivery & logistics
Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!
(0:00) Introducing Cleo Abram
(1:12) Why YouTube has become the best platform for creators, techno-optimism at Huge If True
(8:35) Astrophysicist Alex Filippenko on the James Webb Space Telescope
(23:14) Q&A with Alex Filippenko, Cleo, and Friedberg: The universe, Fermi Paradox, black holes, NIH grants and the "war on science"
(37:37) Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton on the future of drone delivery
(53:29) Q&A with Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Cleo, and Friedberg: Instant delivery explosion, competitors, impact on healthcare
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Keller Rinaudo Cliffton thinks we’re already experiencing the technology of tomorrow, just that it’s not evenly distributed...
About a decade ago, Keller transformed his smartphone robot company into Zipline, which today orchestrates on-demand drone deliveries all over the world. Zipline got its start delivering critical medical supplies to hospitals in Rwanda: a testament to Keller’s belief that innovation is already improving lives outside the U.S.
This week on How I Built This Lab, Keller recounts the ongoing and often challenging development of Zipline’s delivery drones. Plus, how Zipline is now chasing the commercial market, and could soon be delivering packages from stores like Walmart within an hour of a customer clicking “purchase.”
This episode was produced by Carla Esteves and edited by John Isabella, with music by Ramtin Arablouei. Our audio engineer was Josh Newell.
You can follow HIBT on Twitter & Instagram, and email us at hibt@id.wondery.com.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This is a special bonus episode from our Founder Stories series, where entrepreneurs share the story of their startup journey.
A delivery with Zipline is the closest thing we have to teleportation. It sounds like science fiction, but Zipline delivers life saving medical supplies such as blood and vaccines to hospitals, doctors and people in need around the world with the world's largest autonomous drone network.
This week on the podcast, Sarah Guo talks to Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, the co-founder and CEO of Zipline, about building a full-stack business that involves software, hardware and operations, how a culture of ruthless engineering practicality enabled them to do unlikely things, the state of autopilot in aircraft, their AI acoustic detect-and-avoid system, and why founders should build for users beyond the "golden billion."
Show Links:
Zipline's website
Video: Drone Delivery Start-Up Zipline Beats Amazon, UPS And FedEx To The Punch | CNBC
Keller Rinaudo: How we're using drones to deliver blood and save lives | TED Talk
Meet Romotive: An Ambitious Startup That Blew Our Minds
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Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @KellerRinaudo
Show Notes:
[2:07] - Keller’s earlier projects and early inspiration for Zipline and transforming logistics
[7:40] - Why Zipline focused on healthcare logistics and Zipline’s early near death experiences as a company
[15:32] - How Zipline iterated on the hardware while being ruthlessly practical with getting products in the customers’ hands
[21:52] - The difference between AI and Autopilot
[25:51] - How Zipline developed AI acoustic-based detect and avoid system
[31:30] - Zipline’s partnership with Rwanda’s public health system
[34:25] - Challenges in the business model
The 1980s promised robotic servants were in reach. They’d clean up our houses. Bring us drinks. Usher in an era of leisure. We didn’t get robot butlers. But if we look around, we’ll find an army of robotic servants already automating away domestic drudgery.
Richard Rowland recounts the extent to which Androbot over-promised on its ability to build a robot servant. 40 years later, we still don’t have robot maids. Monroe Kennedy III walks us through the complexities of seemingly simple tasks. To make things more difficult, each attempt to build a robot had to build the hardware AND write the code from scratch. Keenan Wyrobek explains that’s why he helped write and share the Robot Operating System (ROS). Leila Takayama describes how beneficial ROS was to the field of robotics. And Terry Fong shares how NASA is using ROS to build the robots that explore our solar system.
If you want to read up on some of our research on domestic robots, you can check out all our bonus material over at redhat.com/commandlineheroes.
Follow along with the episode transcript.
In episode six of The Robot Brains Podcast, Pieter is joined by Keenan Wyrobek, co-founder and head of product and engineering at Zipline. Founded in 2014, Zipline is an on-demand drone delivery service using cutting-edge drone engineering and AI to deliver urgent medical products. In our chat Keenan talks about his youth tearing down his school's 3D printers, how U2's Bono joined his company's board of directors and working with NASA to help his drones fly through extreme weather. Host: Pieter Abbeel Executive Producers: Ricardo Reyes & Henry Tobias Jones Audio Production: Kieron Matthew Banerji. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Keller Rinaudo wants everyone on earth to have access to basic health care, no matter how hard it is to reach them. With his start-up Zipline, he has created the world's first drone delivery system to operate at national scale, transporting blood and plasma to remote clinics in East Africa with a fleet of electric autonomous aircraft. Find out how Rinaudo and his team are working to transform health care logistics throughout the world -- and inspiring the next generation of engineers along the way.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What is "infrastructure" actually? In the 19th and 20th century, that usually meant the transportation systems supporting roadways, airports, trains... but we don't even really know yet what it might potentially mean in the age of rapidly changing technology, autonomous vehicles, drones, and self-driving cars. In this episode, a16z's Matthew Colford discusses the infrastructure of the future with Anthony Foxx, former secretary of transportation under the Obama administration and former mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina; Keller Rinaudo, CEO of Zipline; and Jase Wilson, CEO of Neighborly.
The truth of the matter, says Secretary Foxx, is that we are still a society under construction. How do we think about not just modernizing the 19th century structures we inherited but making new infrastructure for the future anew -- as well as the possibilities of democratizing and crowdsourcing urban planning and public projects?
The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.
Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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“If we have instant delivery for our burgers,” says Zipline CEO and co-founder Keller Rinaudo, “we should have it for our medicine.” So while some people debate whether drone delivery for burritos, beers, and books is a marketing gimmick, one of the most important kinds -- urgent delivery of urgent healthcare -- is happening right now through Zipline’s delivering blood and vaccines to patients and hospitals in Rwanda.
The peace dividend of the smartphone (and electric vehicle) wars has yielded components and cost dynamics that make all this possible. But more importantly, the economics -- bypassing motorcycles and going 20x as fast -- are actually profitable, as drones can help leapfrog existing (or lacking) road infrastructure. "It’s trade, not aid" ... especially as this approach also builds out commercial infrastructure in Africa.
In this episode of the a16z Podcast (in conversation with Chris Dixon and recorded at our recent inaugural a16z Summit), Rinaudo and UPS' Vice President of Healthcare Strategy John Menna discuss using drones to leapfrog infrastructure, and save lives by doing it in less than 15 minutes. But how are regulation and locals responding? What does the trend towards “light and fast” logistics -- based on smaller inventory in a number of controlled-environment yet centrally managed locations -- look like? And finally, how can drones for healthcare delivery further the trend of personalized medicine?
The views expressed here are those of the individual AH Capital Management, L.L.C. (“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum, subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments and certain publicly traded cryptocurrencies/ digital assets for which the issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly) is available at https://a16z.com/investments/.
Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.
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