Google siblings Loon and Wing aren't so crazy any more
The moonshot projects just got a big promotion.
Loon's high-flying balloons.
Loon and Wing have officially taken off.
The fanciful flying projects are now independent companies under Google parent company Alphabet, following their fledgling period as projects at Alphabet's "moonshot factory" known as X. Alastair Westgarth is the new Loon CEO, and James Burgess is the new Wing CEO, according to an X company blog post Wednesday.
Loon will continue working to bring internet access to remote areas around the world. It started in 2016 with a mission to use high-flying balloons as Wi-Fi carriers that deliver signals from above.
Wing will build a drone delivery system and a management platform to improve transportation of goods. This project started in 2012 to develop self-flying drones to do deliveries. Google tested the devices in Queensland, Australia, where the drones transported items like candy bars and cattle vaccines to the locals.
Over the years, X has housed Google's and Alphabet's innovative projects including self-driving cars , Google Glass , smart contact lenses and more before they evolved into separate projects like Loon and Wing.
Loon and Wing didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.