Drones Modern Flying News

Walmart, DroneUp End Delivery Partnership

Former partners had recently downsized a drone delivery network that in 2022 completed more than 6,000 deliveries out of 36 hubs in seven states.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, January 07, 2025 at 11:48 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: tccjeremy

DroneUp and Walmart have ended their partnership after about four years of collaboration. [Courtesy: DroneUp]

Key Takeaways:

Walmart has ended its contract and investment with DroneUp, its former partner in one of the largest U.S. drone delivery services, following DroneUp's significant downsizing in August.
Despite the separation, Walmart plans to continue evolving its drone delivery efforts, focusing on the Dallas-Fort Worth area with new partners Zipline and Wing.
DroneUp faces significant challenges due to the high unit cost of drone deliveries, estimated at $30 per package, making profitability difficult, especially after losing its main client.

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Walmart and partner DroneUp boast one of the largest drone delivery services in the U.S. But after downsizing their network by more than half in August, the companies are going their separate ways.

First reported by Axios and confirmed to FLYING by a Walmart spokesperson, the world’s largest retailer has ended its contract with the drone delivery firm. In addition, Walmart, which as recently as June made an undisclosed strategic investment in the company, is no longer a DroneUp investor.

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.