State Department to fund expansion of Zipline drone deliveries in Africa

Between the lines: The agreement is billed as a pay-for-performance model — a first-of its kind from the State Department — that will tie the release of taxpayer funds to Zipline's ability to negotiate expansion contracts with the governments of Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Côte d'Ivoire.

• If those countries commit to pay for ongoing drone delivery services, the U.S. will provide funding to help Zipline expand its AI and robotics infrastructure to support those operations.
• At full scale, the partnership could triple the number of African hospitals and health facilities Zipline currently serves (from 5,000 to 15,000) and provide up to 130 million people with instant access to blood and medications, Zipline said.

By the numbers: It could also mean an additional $400 million in new business in Africa, where Zipline got its start in 2016.

• Up to 1,000 jobs will also be created, including engineering and manufacturing jobs in the U.S., and operations jobs locally in Africa, Zipline said.

The big picture: Between its medical operations in Africa, and its growing commercial business in the U.S., Zipline already operates the world's largest drone delivery system, with 120 million autonomous miles flown since 2016.

• The company's latest drone system launched last April with Walmart, and Zipline expects to be in 18 cities across the Dallas metroplex by the end of the year.