Page 52 - INC Magazine-November 2018

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“We strongly believe,” says
Zipline’s Keller Rinaudo, “if we the RoBotS
can order a hamburger for
instant delivery in the U.S., we that WIll
should have delivery for life­
saving medical products, too.” Save lIveS
That’s why he co­founded
Zipline, which has delivered
blood to hospitals and health
clinics in Rwanda via drone since
2016. For years, the startup,
which has raised more than
$41 million and is headquartered
on a dairy farm in Half Moon Bay,
California, couldn’t launch in the
U.S., owing to regulatory red
tape. But under the FAA’s three­
year commercial drone pilot
program, Zipline expects to
begin blood and medicine
delivery in North Carolina by early
2019—too late, unfortunately, to
serve areas affected by Hurri­
cane Florence. But the com­
pany’s drones can fly 70 miles
per hour, navigate bad weather,
and clear the Appalachians—so
they’ll be able to quickly and
easily get to, say, barrier islands
like the Outer Banks.
The service works like
this: A pharmacist or medical
professional opens the Zipline
app and places an order, and,
within 30 minutes, a GPS­
equipped autonomous drone locatIon:
airdrops the package via para­ MUhanGa dIStRIct, RWanda
chute. “As goofy as it sounds,
think of it as DoorDash or Insta­ A Zipline drone, which can
cart—you select what you want, accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in
click ‘order,’ and it’s delivered,” 0.3 second, launches into the
sky on its way to deliver
says Rinaudo. “We want to lifesaving blood.
provide a superpower for doctors
and nurses.” —WILL YAKOWICZ

Revenue in the commercial drone
industry will grow 2,936 percent,
to $34 billion, by 2022
Source: Guinn Partners

> 450,000
number of commercial drone licenses
that the faa expects to issue by 2022
Source: FAA

By 2026, the drone industry is
expected to have an impact on U.S.
GdP of up to $46 billion.
Source: McKinsey

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