It appears that Google has decided to see if Loon can become a real thing.
Alphabet spins drone and internet balloon projects into independent companies
Alphabet’s Loon and Wing are now more than just ‘projects’
https://www.engadget.com/2018/07/11/alphabet-google-project-loon-project-wing-spun-off/
Spinning projects out of Google-X into their own divisions holds no guarantee that they will succeed, but it is encouraging to see Google placing more behind its internet connectivity projects. You might have seen the news about the ability for these systems to adapt and provide emergency coverage in the wake of the Puerto Rico devastation.
Project Loon delivers internet to 100,000 people in Puerto Rico
https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/09/project-loon-delivers-internet-100-000-people-puerto-rico/
FWIW – Drone delivery (Wing)is an interesting spin out too. I would have thought that this use case would have needed more time in the incubator. But, perhaps that’s the strategy, prove the technology and then spin them out as projects quickly to see if they find their use cases.