Alphabet, Google's parent company, has given its secret and futuristic lab a new logo. Called Google X, the division's name is simplified to be just "X". The new logo sports a 3D yellow "X" and drops the word "Google".
Since Alphabet was formed in 2015, various subsidiaries have started rebranding. X's new identity is Google's (Alphabet) further attempt to restructure its services.
The decision to drop the word "Google" is also because the division is not anymore under Google, but under Alphabet. Before Google X becomes X, Google Ventures became GV. Google Life Sciences became Verily. The remaining non-Google products that use the "Google" name are Google Capital, Google Fiber, and Google Self Driving Cars.
Google separated its services to include some to Alphabet while keeping the internet-related services, Maps and ads under its flag.
X is famous for its "moonshot" projects that made big bets on technologies that the company believe will share the future of how people will interact with technology. The company aims to solve some of the world's biggest problems by innovating new products that may or may not be successful.
From driverless cars to Wi-Fi balloons, X continues to create new imaginable and unimaginable.
X's new logo and structure marks Google's first major excursion from software, and its first transparent investment in futuristic pipe-dream projects. Google has spent a lot of its money and resources on Google X, and investors were wondering how the company would eventually turn the wheel of fortune around as its attempt to sink even more money on unproven and flopped projects continues (ie. Google Glass).
Restructuring
Google and Alphabet, being different companies with different CEOs, can benefit investors for their transparencies. Shareholders know that Google's main revenue comes from search advertising. But they were once limited in information. Especially about Google's investments when concerning its expensive moonshots.
2016 is the first year for Google (Alphabet) to break down its finances. The one product that X won't report is Google Glass. In 2015 Google said that it has taken away Glass from X, putting it alongside with Maps, Gmail, YouTube and Hangouts.
As part of its restructuring, X is "sharpening its focus" and "framing itself as Alphabet's incubator." This is also to to quell some of this anxiety, and to take its ambitious projects to viable businesses opportunities before making them standalone.
To make this possible, a new group inside X is formed, called the "Foundry". It's created to create a "tighter criteria" on when projects get to live or die. Foundry will also help X's projects to evolve from big ideas into actual products.
X also created a new division: Robotics. After Andy Rubin's departure in 2014, series of acquired companies were left behind. Under the new division which runs under X, Google is piecing them together to better organize and integrate them for better future use. This include Project Titan to join Project Wing, Google's drone delivery project.
In many ways, X will be Alphabet in miniature that will sprout new startups that focus on hardware - something that Google has not done well yet.
As of the logo redesign, projects under X include: self-driving cars, Project Wing, Project Glass, Project Loon, AI (Artificial Intelligence), WoT (Web of Things to simplify Internet of Things [IoT]) and others.
Google's co-founder Sergey Brin was originally the person in charge of Google X. He was heavily involved in operations. But he stepped back to work on Alphabet short after the announcement. Astro Teller who has managed X since the lab's co-founder Sebastian Thrun departed, took the job to oversee the division.