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We create radical new technologies to solve some of the world’s hardest
problemsWe create radical new technologies 
to solve some of the world’s hardest problems 

X -
The Moonshot Factory
X is a diverse group of inventors and entrepreneurs who build and launch
technologies that aim to improve the lives of millions, even billions, of
people. Our goal: 10x impact on the world’s most intractable problems, not just
10% improvement. We approach projects that have the aspiration and riskiness of
research with the speed and ambition of a startup.
Public X Projects
Public X Projects
What if you could read a plant
like you read a book?

Explore Mineral
What if we could protect the ocean
while feeding the world sustainably?

Explore Tidal
What if beams of light could provide
global access to fast, affordable internet?

Explore Taara
Stories + News
Stories + News
We choose to go to the moon
Moonshot Thinking

Introducing Tidal
A moonshot to protect the ocean and feed humanity sustainably
X Projects

Fast Company
Inside X, Google's top-secret moonshot factory
On the 10 year anniversary of X, WIRED UK takes a look at what we’ve been up to
at the factory — featuring prototypes, plant buggies and Astro dressed
as Gandalf
In the news

Introducing the Everyday Robot Project
A first look at the project teaching robots how to help us in our everyday lives
X Projects

Mineral: Bringing the era of computational agriculture to life
A new name for a new way of seeing the plant world
X Projects

Fast Company
How to unleash creativity on the world’s biggest problems, from Alphabet’s
moonshot division
Astro Teller, the head of X, reflects on 10 years of work on projects such as
internet-beaming balloons and sterilizing mosquitoes—and some even crazier ideas
that never quite saw the light of day.
In the news

Making Black history every month
Celebrating past accomplishments and building a future where everyone can thrive
Moonshot Thinking

X Timeline
X Timeline
Ten years of moonshots - from self driving cars to computational agriculture Ten
years of moonshots
In 2010, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin decided to form a new
division of the company to work on moonshots: far-out, sci-fi sounding
technologies that could one day make the world a radically better place. It was
a grand experiment — some might say a moonshot unto itself. 10 years in, X has
incubated hundreds of different moonshot projects, many of which have gone on to
become independent businesses.
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The Moonshot Factory is created
Google’s new division gets a placeholder name: X. It has a first project:
self-driving cars. Is it a research center? An incubator? A non-profit? No, it’s
a moonshot factory looking 5-10 years out into the future, aiming to solve some
of the world’s hardest problems. Google’s new division gets a placeholder name:
X. It has a first...
An early flurry of invention
The first batch of X projects begins, including wearable computer, Google Glass,
and Google Brain, a team breaking new ground in artificial intelligence. Other
teams tackle indoor maps (Insight) and improving photography on mobile
devices (GCam). The first batch of X projects begins, including
wearable computer,...
Hardest things first
Audacious idea: deliver Internet from giant balloons flying freely on
stratospheric winds. A determined team sets out to prove this was impossible —
the opposite of what most people do. By tackling the hardest parts of the
problem first, they get Loon flying and cement a mindset that becomes a
cornerstone of X’s culture. Audacious idea: deliver Internet from giant balloons
flying freely on...
A breakthrough for Brain
Brain creates one of the largest-ever neural networks for machine learning. The
team feeds random images of cats extracted from 10 million YouTube videos, but
they don’t tell the machines in advance what a cat looks like. The results are
unprecedented, proving that machine learning is ready to improve many of the
tools we use everyday. Brain creates one of the largest-ever neural networks
for machine...
Glass Explorers
The Google Glass Explorer program launches, inviting the public to teach X how a
wearable device could be useful in their daily lives. Athletes, concert
pianists, hair stylists, and firefighters help the team gather learnings they
never could have in a lab. The Google Glass Explorer program launches, inviting
the public to...
A first in New Zealand
30 lighter-than-air solar-powered Loon balloons launch in the Canterbury area of
New Zealand. Sheep farmer Charles Nimmo is the first person in the world to
connect to balloon-powered internet. 30 lighter-than-air solar-powered Loon
balloons launch in the...
A milestone for Makani
Makani’s 20kw prototype energy kite successfully achieves a special kind of
flight called “crosswind flight” that the team will use to sustainably generate
electricity from the wind. Makani’s 20kw prototype energy kite successfully
achieves a special...
Wing's first real-world delivery
Project Wing's self-flying drone drops off candy and dog treats to a cattle
rancher in Australia in its first tests outside the US. Project Wing's
self-flying drone drops off candy and dog treats to a...
Early prototypes: Is that a koala?
The Self-Driving Car project develops the “Firefly” prototype, built from the
ground up for fully autonomous operation. Designed to be neighborhood friendly
and approachable, many insist this early prototype looks like a koala. The
Self-Driving Car project develops the “Firefly” prototype, built...
Life sciences converge
Health professionals have long aimed to move treatment from largely reactive to
proactive. A collection of new technologies developed at X, including a smart
contact lens, come together around this mission and ultimately graduate from X
to form the Alphabet company, Verily. Health professionals have long aimed to
move treatment from largely...
The X in Alphabet
Alphabet forms in August 2015, separating Google from a set of smaller companies
working on very different problems. Still an innovation lab, but now a separate
division within Alphabet, Google X becomes X, and its job is to generate
moonshot-based businesses for Alphabet. Alphabet forms in August 2015,
separating Google from a set of smaller...
No ordinary ride
The Self-Driving Car team completes the world’s first fully self-driving ride on
public roads in Austin, TX — no steering wheel, pedals, or test drivers
involved. Steve Mahan, the former CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center, is
the inaugural passenger. The Self-Driving Car team completes the world’s
first fully...
Introducing Waymo
The Self-Driving Car team, X’s first moonshot project, graduates to become its
own Alphabet company with the mission of building a better driver and making it
safe and easy for everyone to get around. The Self-Driving Car team, X’s first
moonshot project, graduates to...
The factory operating manual
Over several years of moonshot-taking, X notices some of the cultural habits
that make audacious thinking and radical creativity easier — and repeatable.
Over several years of moonshot-taking, X notices some of the cultural...
Testing in the Australian skies
Project Wing begins delivering food and other goods to families in rural areas
around Canberra, Australia. Project Wing begins delivering food and other goods
to families in...
A new chapter for Glass
The Glass Explorer program evolves into Glass Enterprise Edition when the team
learns that workers in fields such as manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare
find wearable devices highly useful for getting the information they need while
their hands are busy. The Glass Explorer program evolves into Glass Enterprise
Edition when...
Helping out after disasters
After devastating floods in Peru and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Project
Loon flies in to provide basic connectivity and help people get access to vital
information and basic communication tools. After devastating floods in Peru and
Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico,...
Dandelion graduates
Dandelion, a project using geothermal energy to sustainably and affordably heat
and cool homes, graduates from X as an independent company outside Alphabet and
begins offering services in the northeastern United States. Dandelion, a project
using geothermal energy to sustainably and...
A stroke of Real Genius
Project Loon tries using wireless optical communications, or beams of light, to
transmit data between two balloons flying 100km apart. They send a copy of the
movie Real Genius, and it works. Project Taara is born to see how wireless
optical communications can be used to bring quality connectivity to underserved
places back down on earth. Project Loon tries using wireless optical
communications, or beams of...
Computational agriculture
In 2017, a new team at X forms to help farmers around the world grow more food,
more sustainably. By bringing together new data, machine learning, and novel
sensing technologies, the team spots an opportunity to give farmers and breeders
clearer and more accurate insights into how their crops are doing. In 2017, a
new team at X forms to help farmers around the world grow...
A cybersecurity moonshot
Most cyberattacks today are dealt with reactively, after the damage is already
done. In 2018, Chronicle — a new platform using machine learning to spot
patterns in huge volumes of security data — graduates from X to help give
organizations a much higher-resolution view of their security situations than
they’ve ever had. Most cyberattacks today are dealt with reactively, after the
damage is...
Loon and Wing take flight
After years of hard work and relentless testing in the real world, Loon and Wing
graduate from X and become two new independent businesses within Alphabet. After
years of hard work and relentless testing in the real world, Loon...
Introducing Malta
Project Malta — a new approach to grid-scale energy storage whose secret
ingredient is molten salt — graduates from X and becomes an independent company
outside Alphabet as they get ready to build their first megawatt-scale
pilot plant. Project Malta — a new approach to grid-scale energy
storage whose...
Makani graduates
After the latest Makani model generates 600 kilowatts of electricity — enough
energy to power about 300 homes — Makani becomes an independent company within
Alphabet and partners with Shell to continue working towards clean, affordable
wind power. After the latest Makani model generates 600 kilowatts of
electricity —...
Building everyday robots
X announces the Everyday Robot Project, a project whose moonshot is to build
robots that can learn to do a range of everyday tasks and ultimately become as
helpful to people in the physical world as computers are now in the
virtual world. X announces the Everyday Robot Project, a project whose moonshot
is to...
Seeing underwater
In 2020, X launches Tidal, a new project combining machine learning and an
underwater camera system to help understand and protect our ocean’s ecosystems.
They start with a small corner of the problem: partnering with fish farmers to
help them run and grow their operations more sustainably. In 2020, X launches
Tidal, a new project combining machine learning and...
Ten years of learning
Over the course of 10 years, X learns a lot about some of the processes and
cultural habits that help systematize innovation. For our 10th anniversary, we
share the Gimbal — our internal guide to invention and innovation — alongside
other tips for unleashing radical creativity that anyone can put into practice.
Over the course of 10 years, X learns a lot about some of the processes...
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