In what type of business Google X’s Moonshot Factory operate in? What is the purpose of Google X’s Moonshot Factory? What does Google X’s Moonshot Factory do?
Class: MADM701-AP2-42009-Summer2021 Assignment: M4 Mini Case Analysis Discussion Forum # 4 Student: Clark, Matthew What is the purpose of Google X’s Moonshot Factory? What does Google X’s Moonshot Factory do? Google’s Moonshot Factory is a non-core business R&D center responsible for finding technology solutions to solve the world’s largest problems. Problems that affect hundreds of millions of people and have a net positive effect on society through technology, sustainability and scalability. For a company focused on constantly creating innovative technology, Google X was founded to solve some of the world’s biggest problems by developing long-term breakthrough innovations. The team plays an important role in Google’s future development, reaching beyond its core search-business and create problem solving technology that may lead to future business, as far as 5-10 years out. They are looking to invent something completely new and “out of this world” (Moonshot Factory, n.d.). In 2010, Google created a sister company, X, which is often referred to as The Moonshot Factory. A moonshot is defined by X as the intersection of a big problem, a radical solution, and breakthrough technology. The purpose of X is creating and developing innovative “sci-fi sounding” technology, and to “create radical new technologies to solve of the world’s hardest problems.” X has created ingenious technologies such as self-driving cars, solar power balloons that provide Internet to remote areas, kites that generate electricity, and drones that deliver packages (X Development LLC, 2018). Weather these inventions and solutions fail or succeed is not the point. The process put in place at the secretive "X" division, is designed to find answers that will shape its next-generation technology, even if the final problem is not solved. For example, Robotics was area of interest for Moonshot from 2013-2018, but the project fizzled out. This month Alphabet announced it getting back into the robotics with a new company called Intrinsic, which will focus on building software for industrial robots (Vincent, 2021). Moonshot did not solve the initial problem it set out to conquer with robotics at first. But along the way the company made massive strides in robotic learning software. Moonshot is using it’s past failure to unlock the creative and economic potential of industrial robotics, using machine learning to teach robots to manipulate objects without direct supervision. In 2020 Google spent $27,573,000 in Research and development References Vincent, J. (2021, July 23). Google parent Alphabet launches Intrinsic: a new company to build software for industrial robots. The Verge. Retrieved from: https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/23/22590109/google-intrinsic-industrial-robotics-company-software X Development, LLC. (2018). Glass Enterprise Edition. Retrieved from https://x.company/glass/