Wing is a drone-delivery company launched from Google's X in 2012 that is scaling small-package logistics in dense residential areas. It surpassed 1 million commercial deliveries by mid-2026 and built a service area covering more than 2 million customers across major U.S. metros including Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Greater Houston, where an eight-store addition on July 8, 2026 brought the local network to 13 Walmart locations reaching over 1 million residents. On July 29, 2026, Wing and Walmart opened Wing's first Florida market in Greater Orlando - the state's first active drone-delivery service since rival DroneUp exited in 2024 - from two Walmart Supercenters, with three more Orlando-area stores expected to follow within weeks. Wing's coast-to-coast Walmart partnership - co-credited with Zipline for Walmart crossing 1 million total drone deliveries on May 29, 2026 - is heading for 270+ store locations across nearly 20 U.S. markets by 2027, and Wing has begun its first national quick-service-restaurant pilot with Papa John's. By mid-August 2026 it had also started site selection for a new, previously unannounced Greater St. Louis market, while it still has not named a launch date for its planned Bay Area residential service in the metro where the company was founded.
The FAA completed final environmental reviews clearing Wing to operate up to 118 drone delivery nests across its Atlanta and Houston markets, with the Houston plan alone covering as many as 75 nests, each housing up to 24 aircraft and serving a 6-mile delivery radius. The approval lets Wing keep building out the Walmart-anchored network in two of its most established US metros as it works toward a target of more than 270 delivery locations reaching about 40 million Americans by 2027.
Wing and Walmart began drone delivery service across Greater Orlando on July 29, operating from two Walmart Supercenters in Apopka and Clermont with orders arriving in 30 minutes or less. It is Wing's first Florida market and the state's first active drone-delivery service since rival operator DroneUp exited Florida in 2024, with Walmart planning to add three more Orlando-area stores in Ocoee, Clermont, and Haines City in the coming weeks.
Alphabet's Wing and Walmart on June 9 announced what they called the world's largest-ever drone delivery expansion, adding Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Salt Lake City - seven metro areas at once - bringing the partnership to nearly 20 U.S. markets. The expansion is part of Wing and Walmart's plan to put drone delivery within reach of roughly 40 million Americans by 2027, and follows the partnership's milestone of surpassing 1 million total U.S. drone deliveries in May 2026.
Wing's autonomous delivery aircraft is designed for short-haul local logistics: it picks up packages from merchant stations, cruises above streets and obstacles, then lowers the order on a tether into a small delivery zone. The system is highly automated, with pilots overseeing multiple flights from remote operations centers rather than manually flying each aircraft. Wing now operates a fleet of differently sized drones: a standard aircraft carries ~2.5 lb (a single drone fulfills roughly 70% of U.S. orders) and a larger aircraft introduced in 2024 doubles payload to ~5 lb to consolidate bigger orders into a single flight.
Commercially active across multiple U.S. cities. Wing's residential network is anchored by its core aircraft plus a larger 5 lb-payload drone for bigger orders, both scaling through the Walmart partnership across nearly 20 U.S. markets.
Delivery MethodTether lowering from hover
Payload Capacity~2.5 lb (standard); up to ~5 lb (larger aircraft)
Wing's merchant-side stack combines lightweight pickup hardware with software integrations so retailers, restaurants, and healthcare providers can add drone delivery inside their existing ordering workflows.
Actively used by retail, restaurant, and healthcare partners as Wing scales market launches without requiring heavy site buildouts.
App IntegrationWing API
Site SetupNo major construction or overhauls
Fulfillment FlowStaff hook package onto pickup station
What's Next
Launch Bay Area residential service
Wing's plan starts in selected San Francisco neighborhoods and then expands to Oakland and San Jose. The Bay Area was included in the June 9, 2026 seven-city Walmart expansion announcement and remains not yet live as of September 1, 2026 - Wing has still not named a specific launch date, continuing to describe the new markets as scaling 'in the coming months.' The launch is Wing's most ambitious dense-metro test, in airspace shared with SFO, OAK, and SJC, and doubles as a homecoming to the market where Project Wing began inside Google X in 2012.
2026
Execute the coast-to-coast Walmart rollout
The next major scaling milestone is turning the announced Walmart markets into live operations. Progress continues incrementally: on July 8, 2026, Wing and Walmart added drone delivery at eight more Greater Houston-area Walmart stores (13 locations total), and on July 29, 2026 Wing opened its first Florida market in Greater Orlando from two of five planned Walmart Supercenters, with Ocoee, a second Clermont store, and Haines City still to follow as of early August. The FAA completed final environmental reviews on August 22, 2026 clearing Wing to operate up to 118 drone delivery nests across its Atlanta and Houston markets, with the Houston plan covering as many as 75 nests, each housing up to 24 aircraft and serving a 6-mile delivery radius, clearing the way for deeper buildout in two of Wing's most established metros. The June 9, 2026 seven-city wave (Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, the SF Bay Area, and Salt Lake City) - which took the partnership to nearly 20 U.S. markets - remains entirely unlaunched as of mid-August 2026, with no store-by-store dates published and Memphis notably staged as a market where both Wing and Zipline plan to operate head to head. Full buildout is targeted by 2027, on the way to more than 270 drone-delivery locations and ~40M Americans within reach.
2026-2027
Broaden extended-hours operations and prepare for FAA Part 108
With after-dark waivers in hand at select sites, Wing is widening service windows in more markets while it waits on FAA Part 108 - the standardized BVLOS regime (NPRM published August 2025, ~3,000+ comments closed October 2025) that would replace the case-by-case waivers Wing has had to negotiate one metro at a time. The rule has slipped repeatedly: the FAA blew past the February 1, 2026 deadline set by a June 2025 executive order and a subsequent mid-March 2026 target. As of mid-August 2026 the final rule remains under White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs review (received July 10, 2026), the last step before publication - a review that can legally run up to 90 days, putting the earliest possible completion in early October 2026, with industry analysts still pointing to publication in late 2026 or into 2027, hung up largely on the contested question of which aircraft yields when a drone and a crewed plane share low-altitude airspace.
2026-2027
Operations & Revenue
StatusActive
Active and scaling. Wing operates in Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Greater Houston (expanded to 13 Walmart locations on July 8, 2026, reaching more than 1 million residents), plus international service in Australia and Europe. On July 29, 2026 Wing opened its first Florida market in Greater Orlando from two Walmart Supercenters (Apopka and Clermont) covering more than 50,000 homes and businesses - the state's first active drone-delivery service since rival DroneUp exited Florida in 2024 - with three more Orlando-area stores (Ocoee, a second Clermont location, and Haines City) still pending as of an August 5, 2026 status check. Between June 16 and July 15, 2026, Wing also completed nearly 1,000 deliveries inside Dallas and Charlotte airspace restricted for the FIFA World Cup, working with the FAA and DHS to keep commercial drone flights running through the event's temporary flight restrictions. Wing has now crossed well over 1 million total commercial deliveries and began a first-of-its-kind pilot with Papa John's, its first national quick-service-restaurant partner, in the Charlotte area. The Walmart partnership - co-credited with Zipline for crossing 1M total combined drone deliveries on May 29, 2026 - expanded again on June 9, 2026, when Wing and Walmart added seven metros (Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Salt Lake City) in what they call the world's largest-ever drone-delivery rollout - bringing the partnership to nearly 20 U.S. markets on the way to 270+ store locations and ~40M Americans by 2027. None of those seven metros had a published launch date as of month-end August 2026, though Wing said in mid-August it was finalizing initial sites with Walmart in a new Greater St. Louis market (Manchester, Maplewood, Kirkwood, St. Charles, Glen Carbon), kicking off local permitting amid some resident opposition over drone noise. On July 29, 2026 DoorDash launched its own in-house drone program (DoorDash Air, FAA Part 135 certified) while explicitly continuing its existing Wing and Flytrex partnerships rather than replacing them. Wing's Bay Area residential launch - a homecoming to the metro where the company began inside Google X in 2012 - remains not yet live as of September 1, 2026, with Wing still describing it only as scaling 'in the coming months.'
Revenue Streams
Consumer Drone Delivery
Residential delivery for groceries, meals, health products, and household essentials, sold directly through Wing and partner storefronts such as Walmart, DoorDash, and (via a 2026 Charlotte-area pilot) Papa John's.
Wing Delivery Platform (B2B)
Wing sells a merchant-facing platform that plugs into existing order flows through pickup stations and APIs, letting businesses add drone delivery without major construction or operational overhauls.
Healthcare Logistics
Wing is extending its network into medical logistics, moving lab samples and other time-sensitive healthcare items through hospital and pharmacy partnerships.
Key Metrics
Employees
Not publicly disclosed
Est. Annual Revenue
Not separately disclosed (part of Alphabet Other Bets, which generated $382M in revenue in Q2 2026 - up from $373M a year earlier - with a $1.8B operating loss, up from $1.24B a year earlier)
Residential Deliveries
Well over 1,000,000
Service Area
2M+ customers live across DFW, Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston & Greater Orlando (Orlando live from 2 of 5 planned Walmart stores as of the July 29, 2026 launch); Walmart partnership expanding toward ~20 U.S. markets, with Greater St. Louis in active site-selection and permitting as of mid-August 2026
FAA Air Carrier Certificate
First-ever Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate granted to a drone-delivery company (2019); with DoorDash's July 29, 2026 certification, Wing is now one of eight companies holding a Part 135 air carrier certificate for drone operations in the US
Planned Walmart Footprint
270+ locations / ~40M Americans by 2027 (nearly 20 markets announced; store-by-store launch dates for the June 9 seven-metro wave still not published as of mid-August 2026)
Average Delivery Time (DFW)
<19 minutes order-to-door (fulfillment); average flight time alone is about 3 minutes 27 seconds
Walmart Program Milestone
1M total Walmart drone deliveries (Wing + Zipline) as of May 29, 2026, across 66 stores in 4 states; no newer aggregate total published as of mid-August 2026
Timeline
2026Pushes coast-to-coast rollout into new metros
Wing kicks off 2026 with a January 11 Walmart announcement adding 150 stores coast to coast and a January 15 Houston launch from five Walmart Supercenters. The combined plan targets more than 270 drone-delivery locations and ~40 million Americans (≈12% of the U.S. population) by 2027.
2026Bay Area homecoming announced
On March 23, 2026 Wing announces it will bring residential drone delivery to the San Francisco Bay Area in the coming months - starting in selected San Francisco neighborhoods, then Oakland and San Jose - a return to the metro where the company began as Project Wing inside Google X in 2012.
2026Walmart crosses 1M drone deliveries with Wing and Zipline
Walmart marks 1 million U.S. drone deliveries on May 29, 2026, with 40% of that million coming in Walmart's fiscal Q1 of FY27. The retailer now runs drone delivery from 66 stores across 4 states and 5 metros using parallel partnerships with Wing and Zipline, with Texas alone accounting for over 200,000 of the deliveries and a 23-minute average order-to-door time.
2026Seven-city expansion announced - world's largest-ever drone delivery rollout
On June 9, 2026, Wing and Walmart announce what they describe as the world's largest-ever drone delivery expansion, adding Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Salt Lake City in a single wave - bringing the partnership to nearly 20 U.S. markets and tracking toward 270+ delivery locations and roughly 40 million Americans within reach by 2027.
2026Partners with Papa John's for first national QSR drone delivery pilot
Wing launches a pilot with Papa John's - its first direct partnership with a national quick-service restaurant chain - delivering Oven Toasted Sandwiches from a single franchise near Indian Trail, North Carolina, tapping into the delivery nest Wing already operates there for its DoorDash service. The drone network will eventually integrate with Papa John's first-party app and its Lou AI ordering assistant.
2026Surpasses 1 million commercial deliveries
Wing crosses 1 million total commercial deliveries and says its top 25% of customers now use the service three times a week. Chief Business Officer Heather Rivera says the milestone shows drone delivery 'isn't just a novelty, it's a service many customers count on multiple times per week.'
2026Houston network expands to 13 Walmart locations
Wing and Walmart add drone delivery at eight more Greater Houston-area Walmart stores on July 8, 2026, bringing the local network to 13 locations and putting drone delivery within reach of more than 1 million Houston-area residents.
2026First Florida market opens in Greater Orlando
Wing and Walmart launch drone delivery across Greater Orlando on July 29, 2026, starting from two Walmart Supercenters in Apopka and Clermont, covering more than 50,000 homes and businesses with orders arriving in 30 minutes or less. It is Wing's first Florida market and the state's first active drone-delivery service since rival DroneUp exited Florida in 2024; Florida flights currently cap payload at 2.5 lb (versus 5 lb in other markets), with plans to raise it later. Three more Orlando-area stores are planned in the coming weeks: Ocoee, a second Clermont location, and Haines City.
2026Completes nearly 1,000 drone deliveries inside World Cup flight restrictions
Between June 16 and July 15, 2026, Wing operates its Dallas and Charlotte networks inside FAA Temporary Flight Restrictions put in place for 2026 FIFA World Cup match venues, fan festivals, and team hotels - working with the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security to keep commercial drone delivery running through nearly 250 World Cup-related TFRs, completing close to 1,000 deliveries in the process.
2026Begins site selection for a new Greater St. Louis market
By early-to-mid August 2026 Wing and Walmart are finalizing initial delivery-hub sites across the Greater St. Louis area - including Manchester, Maplewood, Kirkwood, St. Charles, and Glen Carbon - kicking off local permitting and zoning presentations for a market not previously announced in the June 9, 2026 seven-city wave. Some residents have raised drone-noise concerns at local zoning meetings; independent FAA noise testing has measured Wing's aircraft at about 84 decibels at 50 feet during delivery, compared with 79 dB for Zipline and 88 dB for Amazon's Prime Air.
2025Begins largest-ever U.S. retail expansion
Wing and Walmart kick off the largest drone-delivery expansion yet in the U.S., taking service to 100 Walmart stores across six major cities and pushing drone delivery closer to mainstream local fulfillment.
2024Expands network and starts London healthcare flights
Wing deepens its Walmart and DoorDash partnerships, advances its detect-and-avoid system, and begins flying NHS blood samples across central London with Apian and Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals.
2022Launches in Dallas-Fort Worth and scales Australia
Wing brings drone delivery to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, the first major U.S. metro to get the service, while its Logan operation in Australia scales past 1,000 deliveries per day.
2019First-ever FAA Air Carrier Certificate for drones
Wing earns the first Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate granted by the FAA to a drone-delivery company, clearing the way for commercial home delivery in the U.S.
2018Graduates to standalone Alphabet subsidiary
After incubation inside Google, Wing becomes an independent Alphabet business as it shifts from research project to commercial deployment.
2012Founded as Project Wing within Google X
Wing starts in Google's labs with the goal of building a faster, more convenient delivery option that can take cars off the road and reduce environmental impact.
