This Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) Moonshot Could Become Its Own Company
As consumers look toward the skies, investors should look toward GOOGL
By Chris Katje , InvestorPlace Contributor  |   Dec 21, 2016, 5:45 am EST
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Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG , NASDAQ: GOOGL ) hasn’t shied away from betting big on new technologies shaping our world. The company has spent large amounts of money acquiring companies and investing in new upstarts. Google’s Project Wing, for example, recently announced plans that could soon boost the price of GOOGL stock.
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Alphabet announced plans to create an online exchange named “Wing Marketplace” that would allow customers to get deliveries from selected retailers and restaurants.
Drone deliveries aren’t new, but they have not been officially approved in all 50 states. Alphabet is but one of several companies that has tested drone deliveries and showcased its successful launches, but it’s also highlighted possible concerns.
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An announcement like this isn’t usually that exciting. However, Alphabet named two companies that are actively looking at using this service, which would give the GOOGL Wing project a huge tailwind. Both Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM ) and Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE: DPZ ) are considering using this service in some capacity.
While they have already declined to sign on due to concerns over the user experience, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX ) also considered the Wing Marketplace as an optional coffee delivery system.
Delivering groceries by drone might need some work (how much weight can a drone carry and how much power will that require?). Delivering items like pizza or fast food, however, are more realistic achievements. For Dominos this represents another technological advancement.
This is a company that caught on to online ordering, mobile ordering and other technology quicker than other pizza companies. Domino’s even played a hand in the world’s first commercial pizza delivery by drone when its New Zealand franchise completed the task earlier this year with drone company Flirtey.
Along with Flirtey, a company backed by Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM ), competition to Google in its drone ambitions comes from Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN ). Amazon Prime Air, which successfully delivered a bag of popcorn and Amazon Fire TV Stick to a customer in the United Kingdom earlier this week, leads the way in drone delivery.
As mentioned above, several companies have successfully delivered items by drone in test runs. Project Wing was one of these successful companies earlier this year when it delivered Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG ) burritos to students at Virginia Tech University. Alphabet has also been a heavy investor in small private companies in the drone sector. From 2012 to 2016, Alphabet trails only Qualcomm for amount invested in the sector for private funding .