X is the brainchild of Google founders Brin and Page Google's job cuts are part of a broader cost-efficiency push
Alphabet Inc.'s lab for pioneering technology is laying off dozens of employees as it turns to outside investors to help fund its ventures.
The division, known as X, has in recent months ramped up discussions on funding with venture capitalists and other investors, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named as it is private. The lab is adopting a new structure that'll enable its projects to more easily spin out of X as independent startups with support from Alphabet and outside backers, according to one of the people and an email to staff obtained by Bloomberg.
"We're expanding our approach to focus on spinning out more projects as independent companies funded through market-based capital," Astro Teller, who leads the lab, wrote in the email. "We'll do this by opening our scope to collaborate with a broader base of industry and financial partners, and by continuing to emphasize lean teams and capital efficiency."
As part of the restructuring, X is laying off dozens of employees, according to one of the people with knowledge of the matter. The layoffs are focused on support staff, the person said. Alphabet didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
Launched by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, X has captured the public imagination by pursuing projects from self-driving cars to high-altitude balloons that connect remote communities to the internet. But in recent years the lab has come under more pressure to show that it can turn its speculative bets into profitable businesses, and Alphabet as a whole is waging a campaign to cut costs.
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X employees had explored raising outside capital for their ventures in the past, but they ran into concerns from Alphabet leadership, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
addition to seeking venture capital, X has met with family offices, sovereign wealth funds, private equity firms and strategic investors, or companies operating in the same industries that the moonshots are targeting, according to the people.
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"This approach will give us more opportunity to focus on what Xers do best: inventing breakthrough technologies to help solve some of the world's most pressing challenges," [X Labs head] Teller wrote in the note to staff. "Because the world needs moonshots more now than ever."
See the full article online on Bloomberg here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-22/google-layoffs-saga-continues-as-alphabet-s-x-cuts-dozens-of-jobs-seeks-funds?sref=VxHCy32x
