Wing, the Alphabet-owned company that delivers groceries, over-the-counter medications and hot lattes, is expanding its partnership with Walmart for the second time in less than a year.
On Sunday, the companies announced plans to bring on-demand drone delivery service to an additional 150 Walmart stores. The rollout, which builds on existing services at stores in Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta, will run through this year and into 2027, Wing’s new chief business officer Heather Rivera told TechCrunch.
This expansion suggests that customers are using Wing’s drone delivery services enough to warrant growth. Rivera said the top 25% of customers use the service three times a week. The most commonly ordered items are eggs, ground beef, fresh tomatoes, avocados, limes, lunch menu items, and snacks such as takis.
The 150 store expansion announcement follows shared plans to expand in Houston, Orlando, Tampa and Charlotte in June 2025. Rivera said Wings will launch in Houston on Jan. 15. Once the expansion is complete, Wing will operate in more than 270 Walmart stores, including Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Miami, serving approximately 10% of the U.S. population.
This announcement places the former Google X project firmly in the category of commercial enterprise. Wing also has a partnership with DoorDash, but its main route to commercial business has been, and continues to be, through Walmart.
The two companies first partnered in 2023 to launch a pilot program to test on-demand drone delivery to approximately 60,000 households at two stores in the Dallas metropolitan area. The program has since expanded to 18 Walmart Supercenter stores in Dallas and Fort Worth, and recently expanded to stores in Atlanta.
Rivera said Wing will continue to evolve its technology and operations. For example, the company recently completed the first commercial flight of a large aircraft capable of carrying a 5-pound payload. But in general, Wing is focused on installing its services in Walmart locations and integrating them into its operations, she said.
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Rivera said Wing will likely try several different approaches to expand its business, including focusing on store openings. That’s the approach Wing used last year when it co-launched six stores in Atlanta. Mr. Rivera declined to say whether or when his business would become profitable. However, Rivera admitted that she was brought in to expand the business.
“And that’s what I came here to do and I’m excited about it,” she said, later noting that “volume is definitely powering our flywheel.” In other words, expanding to as many stores as possible in as many markets as possible is important for business economics.
