Wing expands drone delivery partnership with Walmart

Wing, the autonomous drone delivery company owned by Alphabet, is expanding its drone delivery service into seven additional U.S. cities through its partnership with Walmart. The expansion introduces the service to Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Salt Lake City. These new locations will join existing service areas such as Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Greater Houston, bringing the total service footprint of the Wing and Walmart partnership to nearly 20 U.S. markets. By scaling the service to these new locations, the partners are continuing to build out their joint on-demand logistics network, making autonomous aerial delivery accessible to a broader base of consumers across these U.S. regions.

Walmart has experimented with drone delivery for years, but upsized its commitment after successful deployments with Wing. In January, the companies announced plans to bring the on-demand drone delivery service to an additional 150 Walmart stores. This expansion is part of a broader plan to build a drone delivery network of more than 270 Walmart locations by next year. The scaling of the network is supported by Wing’s operational track record; the company has already completed more than 1 million commercial deliveries, which includes those done through its partnership with Walmart.

As the infrastructure scales, Wing is aiming to prove that drone delivery is a reliable, frequently used service rather than a novelty. According to Heather Rivera, the chief business officer of Wing, the top 25% of customers use the drone delivery service three times a week. Rivera noted that drone delivery is a service many customers count on multiple times per week. “Our work with Walmart has shown that drone delivery isn’t just a novelty, it’s a service many customers count on multiple times per week,” Rivera said in a statement announcing the new markets.

The expansion highlights Wing’s push to prove that drone delivery is a reliable, frequently used service rather than a novelty. By scaling its infrastructure to meet consumer demand, the company is working to transition drone logistics from experimental deployments to high-frequency, everyday use within the U.S. market.

Why it matters

Wing’s expansion signals a shift from experimental drone delivery to a reliable, high-frequency service, as the company scales its infrastructure to meet consistent consumer demand.