Zipline, a Half Moon Bay, Calif.-based startup using drones to deliver urgently needed medical supplies, is valued at $1.2 billion after raising $190 million from backers including Katalyst Ventures, Alphabet's investment arm GV and TPG's The Rise Fund, according to CNBC.
The company has raised a total of $234.6 million since its 2014 founding. In that time, it has delivered supplies such as blood, vaccines and antivenom to difficult-to-reach health facilities across Rwanda and Ghana.
The latest influx of funding will allow Zipline to expand services not only within Rwanda and Ghana, but also in the U.S. CEO Keller Rinaudo told CNBC the company has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin delivering supplies in North Carolina.
"People think what we do is solving a developing economies problem. But critical access hospitals are closing at an alarming rate in the U.S., too, especially if you live in the rural U.S.," Mr. Rinaudo said.
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