Crucible Moments Zipline ft Keller Cliffton - Reinventing Delivery with Instant Drone Transport
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Oct 23, 2025 Keller Cliffton, the Co-founder and CEO of Zipline, led a daring shift from consumer robotics to life-saving drone delivery. Joined by co-founders Keenan Wyrobek, Ryan Oxenhorn, and chief of staff Maggie Jim, they share their journey of overcoming skepticism to deliver vital medical supplies in Rwanda. The team shares insights on tackling regulatory challenges, creating efficient drone systems, and the impact of COVID on their expansion. They also discuss innovative solutions for last-mile delivery, aiming for millions of deliveries daily.
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From Robotic Toys To Life-Saving Drones
- Keller and team shut down their robotic toy company and rebuilt it into Zipline focused on medical drone delivery.
- They pivoted despite investors' skepticism and almost running out of money before finding product-market fit.
Rwanda Told Zipline: 'Just Do Blood'
- In a meeting with Rwanda's Minister of Health, she told Keller to 'shut up, just do blood' and signed Zipline to deliver blood to hospitals.
- Rwanda's government and president took an early, decisive bet that enabled Zipline's first real-world mission.
Airplanes Outperform Quadcopters For Range
- Fixed-wing airplanes offer dramatically better range and efficiency than quadcopters for long-distance delivery.
- Choosing an airplane design unlocked orders-of-magnitude more value per kilometer for remote logistics.
