Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation and Safety Testing

Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton gives Molly a rare full tour inside Zipline’s factory + HQ—including the ROCC (Remote Operating Command Center), live flight monitoring, the HITL hardware-in-the-loop simulator lab, reliability testing, and the production line.

DISCLAIMER: This is a LIVE factory, it is noisy, audio can be inconsistent at times. Enjoy :)

Watch our full sit-down interview with Keller for more information behind their latest $7.6B valuation & financing round.

Zipline is nearing 2,000,000 total deliveries and operates what Keller describes as a global system where “every one of those aircraft is out making delivery somewhere in the world.” The company says it has achieved 125 million commercial autonomous miles with zero safety incident, and it’s scaling fast: ~15% week-over-week growth with operations running ~17 hours/day today and moving toward 24/7.

Inside the ROCC, Keller walks through how Zipline manages fleet oversight at scale, including FAA approval to fly at ratios of “one human to 30 aircraft” (and pushing beyond that). He also shares site ramp dynamics: the first Dallas site took ~110 days to reach 100 deliveries/day, while newer sites can hit 100 deliveries/day in ~2 days—and in some cities Zipline says 50%+ of homes are ordering.

On the engineering side, Zipline’s HQ team spans autonomy, powertrain, safety/reliability, systems test, embedded, mechanical, and industrialization—part of a workforce of ~1,300 people, including ~800 in the U.S., with “more than half” in engineering. Keller also explains Zipline’s Tesla-like approach to vertical integration: designing core systems in-house (including motors) and even building internal manufacturing software—“the only other companies…that do that…Tesla.”

You’ll see how Zipline maintains high engineering velocity while prioritizing safety: a major global software update every six weeks (typically ~60 bug fixes and ~25–30 performance improvements), tested across simulation and real-world flights before rolling out over-the-air.

Keller R. Cliffton: https://x.com/Keller 

Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea 

Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 

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