行业洞察｜ZIPLINE VS WING：物流无人机公司哪家强？

在Zipline和Wing这两家无人机配送领域的巨头之间的对决中，谁的规模更大？Wing隶属于Alphabet，该公司前身为谷歌。因此，倘若不去考虑公司规模和资产，那么有人可能会说，Wing是赢家。Wing通过与Alphabet的关系拥有现金渠道。

In a showdown between Zipline vs Wing, two major players in the drone delivery space, which one is bigger? Wing is owned by Alphabet, the company formerly known as Google. So if you’re going off of total company size and access to cash, which Wing has through its relationship with Alphabet, then one might argue it’s Wing that’s the winner.

但从大多数指标来看，尤其是当你把Wing视为自己的公司而不是Alphabet的子公司时，还有另一家公司要大得多：Zipline。

But by most metrics — especially when you look at Wing as its own company rather than as a subsidiary of Alphabet — there’s another company that’s far larger: Zipline. 

在近期发布的一份报告中，总部位于德国的无人机行业分析公司drone industry Insights根据员工规模、增长和公众关注等指标，对无人机物流配送的顶级公司进行了排名。在Zipline和Wing的对决中，赢家并不是谷歌旗下的Wing。根据DII的数据，2022年前五大无人机配送服务提供商是:

In a fresh report released today, German-based drone industry analysis company Drone Industry Insights ranked the top companies for drone delivery services, considering metrics including employee size, growth and public attention. And in a showdown of Zipline vs Wing, it’s not the Google-affiliated drone delivery giant that’s the winner. According to DII, the top five drone delivery service providers in 2022 are: 

1.Zipline

2.Wing

3.Matternet

4.Manna

5.FlyTrex

Zipline击败Wing的消息可能会令人吃惊，特别是考虑到亚马逊(Amazon)、UPS或大型航空公司等大公司对无人机行业表现出的极大兴趣。相反，在前5大无人机物流配送公司中，只有一家公司得到了大型科技公司的支持。但DII表示，这实际上并不是一件坏事。

The news that Zipline beats out Wing might come as a surprise, especially given the enormous interest it seems that large corporations such as Amazon, UPS, or major airlines have shown in the drone industry. Instead, just one company in the top 5 drone delivery companies is backed by big tech. But that’s not actually a bad thing, DII says. 

根据DII备忘录：“这是一个令人鼓舞的迹象，表明无人机行业正在自行发展，而不是作为大型企业投资于高风险和未经验证的技术的二次冒险。”

“This is an encouraging sign for the growth of the drone industry on its own and not as a secondary venture by large corporations investing in risky and unproven technologies,” according to a DII memo. 

该排名也与2021年的顶级无人机送货公司大抵相似，其中Zipline、Wing和Matternet都名列前茅(并按此顺序)。

The rankings are also largely similar to the top drone delivery companies of 2021, in which Zipline, Wing and Matternet all came out on top (and in that order).

就Wing而言，该公司的员工数量并不比Zipline多。事实上，根据DII的数据，排名第一的Zipline的员工数量是排名第二的Wing的3倍。

Specific to Wing, the company does not have more employees than Zipline. In fact, top-ranked Zipline has 3 times more employees than second-place Wing, according to DII.

DII表示：“Zipline自成立以来在8笔投资交易中获得了4.81亿美元的投资，这在很大程度上推动了这一增长。”“简而言之，尽管其他主要参与者强劲而稳步增长，但Zipline一定是无人机物流配送市场上无可争议的领导者。”

“This growth has been largely boosted by the $481 million in investment that Zipline has received in the 8 investment deals since its inception,” according to DII. “In short, despite strong and steady growth by other major players, Zipline is the undisputed leader in the drone delivery services market.”

与其讨论Zipline vs Wing，或许让Wing与Matternet比较更有意义。这两家公司的排名指数只有1%的差距，这意味着两者的差异几乎可以忽略不计。

And rather than discuss Zipline vs Wing, it might actually make more sense to pit Wing against Matternet. The two companies have only a 1% gap in the ranking index, meaning that the difference is almost negligible.

图片源自Zipline

Photo courtesy of Zipline

2022年无人机配送公司在哪里运营？

Where are drone delivery companies operating in 2022?

虽然前三家无人机公司总部位于美国，但其中大多数实际上并不主要在美国运营。因此，根据DII的分析，尽管美国在提供人才方面可能很大，但“美国在运营和影响力方面的作用并不像最初看起来那么大”。

While the top three drone companies are based in the U.S., most of them don’t actually primarily operate in the U.S. So while the U.S. might be big in terms of offering up talent, “the role of the US in terms of operation and influence is not as large as it may initially appear,” according to an analysis from DII. 

Zipline主要专注于向发展中国家提供医疗无人机服务。Zipline表示，截至2022年3月，该公司已通过无人机在加纳运送了超过100万支COVID-19疫苗。Zipline继续在该地区投资，今年秋天宣布与非洲电子商务平台Jumia合作，在加纳使用无人机运送其产品(从电子产品到服装到美容产品)。Zipline计划将Jumia测试扩展到非洲其他地方。

Zipline primarily focuses on medical drone deliveries to developing countries. Zipline said that as of March 2022, it had surpassed one million COVID-19 vaccines delivered in Ghana via drone. Zipline continues to invest in the region, this fall announcing a partnership with African e-commerce platform Jumia to use drones to deliver its products (which range from electronics to clothing to beauty products) via drone in Ghana. Zipline plans to expand the Jumia tests elsewhere in Africa. 

Wing的许多配送都是在澳大利亚进行的，项目包括通过Wing无人机将商品和食品从澳大利亚洛根大广场购物中心的屋顶直接空运到客户的家中或其他企业。

Many of Wing’s deliveries are happening in Australia, including a project where Wing drones fly merchandise and food from the rooftop of the Grand Plaza Mall in Logan, Australia directly to customers’ homes or other businesses. 

然而，美国仍在进行无人机交付。今年，Wing与沃尔格林(Walgreens)合作，将业务扩展到达拉斯郊区。Flytrex也在德克萨斯州开展业务。即使是Zipline也没有放弃在美国的发展，它特别注重与Intermountain Healthcare的合作关系。Intermountain Healthcare是一家总部位于犹他州的非营利性系统，拥有24家医院，在犹他州、爱达荷州和内华达州运营。

Though, there are still U.S. drone deliveries happening. This year, Wing expanded to a suburb of Dallas in a partnership with Walgreens. Flytrex also has operations in Texas. Even Zipline is not ignoring the U.S., with especial focus on its partnership with Intermountain Healthcare, which is a Utah-based, not-for-profit system of 24 hospitals, operating in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. 

图片源自Manna

Photo courtesy of Manna

2023年值得关注的其他大型无人机物流配送公司

Other big drone delivery companies to watch in 2023

Zipline占主导地位，但还有其他公司得值得关注。总部位于爱尔兰的Manna Aero正在快速增长，其员工数比去年翻了一番。Manna于2018年在爱尔兰的一个小村庄成立，此后筹集了超过3500万美元的风险投资，因新冠疫情期间在爱尔兰提供药品和食品后，得以迅速发展。

Zipline is dominating, but there are other companies to look out for. Manna Aero, which is based in Ireland, is rapidly growing, having doubled its employees from last year. Manna launched in 2018 in a small village in Ireland, has since raised over $35 million in venture capital funding, and really took off in Ireland after it began delivering medicines and food in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

虽然Wing排名第二，但该公司在11月宣布了一些重大消息，这些消息将可能促进其在2023年再次腾飞。Wing与DoorDash合作，通过无人机交付食品和其他便利物品。这一合作关系与我们迄今为止在无人机配送领域看到的大多数合作关系都不同，因为与Wing的其他无人机配送测试不同的是，顾客通过Wing的应用程序从企业订购食品——购物者将首次通过实际食品提供商的应用程序（在这种情况下是DoorDash）而不是通过配送公司的应用程序下订单。目前，DoorDash测试规模很小（目前在澳大利亚的洛根市试点），但它们肯定会扩大。

And while Wing is No. 2, the company just this month announced some major news that could propel it ahead in 2023. Wing partnered with DoorDash to deliver food and other convenience items via drone. this partnership is far unlike most other partnerships we’ve seen to date in the drone delivery space because — unlike most other Wing drone delivery tests, where customers ordered food from businesses through Wing’s app — shoppers for the first time will make their orders through the actual food provider’s app (in this case DoorDash) rather than through the delivery company’s app. For now, the DoorDash tests are pretty small (also happening in Logan, Australia), but they could certainly expand. 

2023年，Wing也将扩展到爱尔兰。

In 2023, Wing is also set to expand into Ireland. 

话说回来，Zipline仍然没有放慢脚步的意思。该公司最近还聘请了特斯拉前首席财务官Deepak Ahuja。

Then again, Zipline is still not slowing down. The company recently hired former Tesla CFO Deepak Ahuja. 

位列于第五名的是Flytrex。Flytrex的策略主要是与高知名度食品公司合作为其热销食品配送今年早些时候，Flytrex与冰淇淋巨头联合利华（本杰里、Breyers、克朗代克、马格南冰淇淋和冰棒等品牌背后的公司）合作开展送货服务，以纪念国家冰淇淋日，最近它还通过无人机运送Charleys Philly牛排。

Rounding out the final spot in the Top Five is Flytrex. Flytrex’s strategy has mostly been partnering with popular food companies to run high-publicity deliveries of their products. Earlier this year, Flytrex ran a partnership with ice cream giant Unilever (the company behind brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Klondike, Magnum ice cream, and Popsicle) to run deliveries in honor of National Ice Cream Day, and more recently it is delivering Charleys Philly Steaks via drone.