Wing, the on-demand drone delivery company owned by Alphabet, is expanding its commercial operations with the help of Walmart. The two companies recently announced plans to introduce drone delivery services to over 100 Walmart stores in five new cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa. Walmart is also including Wing drone deliveries in its current market in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

This expansion reflects Walmart’s growing confidence in drone delivery services. Greg Cathey, Walmart’s senior vice president of U.S. Transformation and Innovation, stated that drone delivery is a crucial part of the company’s commitment to revolutionize retail. Cathey mentioned in a blog post that they are focused on enhancing convenience for customers, making shopping faster and more convenient.

Wing’s partnership with Walmart has evolved from a pilot program to a significant commercial enterprise. After collaborating with Walmart in 2023 to test on-demand drone delivery at two stores in the Dallas metro area, Wing has expanded to 18 Walmart Supercenters in Dallas-Fort Worth. The recent expansion marks a substantial increase in Wing’s operations with Walmart.

CEO Adam Woodworth shared that Wing has progressed beyond the pilot phase to scale up its operations significantly. The company aims to refine its drone delivery strategy in the retail sector based on the successful pilot program in Dallas-Fort Worth, focusing on expanding to more markets.

Woodworth emphasized the importance of effectively scaling deliveries while managing expenses. Wing’s strategy revolves around building a business centered on small, lightweight, automated, low-cost airplanes (drones). The challenge lies in expanding the number of drones and flights without escalating operational costs.

In addition to retail delivery, Wing is venturing into the restaurant food delivery sector through a partnership with DoorDash. The collaboration began in 2022 in Australia, extended to Dallas-Forth Worth, and more recently expanded to Charlotte.