Google X began in January 2010 as a secret lab where Sebastian Thrun and Astro Teller pursued ideas that could not survive anywhere inside the search giant. After Google restructured into Alphabet Inc. in October 2015, the unit was renamed X and has operated ever since as a subsidiary of Alphabet, not of Google LLC. The division exists to generate new businesses that Alphabet can spin out, and its track record includes Waymo, Wing, Verily, and Loon.
X calls its initiatives moonshots. The term is not a slogan. It describes a specific set of criteria the lab uses to decide what to fund. A moonshot must address a huge problem, propose a radical solution, and rely on breakthrough science or engineering rather than incremental improvement. Ideas that fail any of those three tests do not get staff or money from X.
Astro Teller holds the title Captain of Moonshots and runs the operation from a former shopping mall in Mountain View, California. The building is deliberately unmarked. No sign identifies it as X.
The Moonshot Criteria Defined
X evaluates every proposal against three conditions.
Huge problem
First, the problem must be huge. The lab looks for issues that affect millions of people or represent a structural inefficiency in a major industry. A modest improvement to an existing product does not qualify.
Radical solution
Second, the proposed solution must be radical. The idea cannot be a 10 percent better version of what already exists. It has to propose something that sounds unrealistic to outsiders. X management says that if a proposal does not sound like science fiction at first, the bar is set too low.
Breakthrough technology
Third, the enabling advance must be a breakthrough that makes the radical solution possible. The team must be able to point to a specific technical leap that did not exist when earlier attempts at the same problem failed. If the enabling piece is hypothetical rather than demonstrated in a lab or a prototype, X passes.
Founding and the Shift to Alphabet
Google X was founded by Sebastian Thrun and Astro Teller in January 2010. Thrun is a Stanford professor and roboticist who led the team that won the DARPA Grand Challenge. Teller came from a background in computer science and had written a book on the practical side of radical innovation. They built the lab inside Google with a charter that did not require it to report revenue or ship products on a schedule.
Why Alphabet was created
Google announced its corporate restructuring into Alphabet Inc. in August 2015. The change took effect in October of the same year. Under the new structure, Google LLC remained the entity that runs search, ads, Android, YouTube, and Chrome. Everything else became a separate subsidiary under Alphabet. X was moved out of Google and given its own line on the Alphabet org chart.
Sheltering moonshots from quarterly pressure
The purpose of the move was to separate high risk, long timeline research from the quarterly performance expectations of Google's core business. Alphabet as the parent can absorb failures from X without affecting the earnings reports of Google's advertising revenue. The shift also made it easier to spin out a successful X initiative as its own Alphabet entity.
How a Project Graduates from X
Initiatives inside X do not stay there forever. When the leadership decides that an idea is feasible and has a path to a real business, the effort graduates. Graduation means the team leaves X and becomes a standalone company under Alphabet, with its own CEO, budget, and board reporting to the parent.
No fixed timeline
Graduation is not automatic and does not follow a fixed timeline. X evaluates each undertaking against market conditions, regulatory hurdles, and technical readiness. The decision to spin out is made by X leadership in consultation with Alphabet executives. No public formula determines when an initiative is ready.
Waymo as the blueprint
Waymo provides the clearest example. The effort began as the Google Self Driving Car Project inside X. It was formally transferred out of X and became Waymo, an independent Alphabet company, in December 2016. Waymo now operates a commercial fleet and has raised capital from outside investors.
Notable Projects That Came Out of X
Waymo is the best known graduate. It started in 2009 as the Google Self Driving Car Project and entered X shortly after the lab was formed. By the time it graduated in December 2016, the vehicles had logged millions of miles on public roads and the technology had reached a point where a standalone company could pursue commercial deployment.
Wing is a drone delivery service that began inside X. It graduated as an Alphabet company in 2018. Wing now operates commercial drone deliveries in Australia, Finland, and the United States, and it received the first FAA air carrier certification for a drone delivery company in April 2019.
Health sciences and connectivity
Verily started as Google Life Sciences inside X. It focuses on health technology, including smart contact lenses for glucose monitoring and data platforms for clinical trials. Verily graduated in 2015 and operates as an Alphabet subsidiary. Loon, which used stratospheric balloons to provide internet access, was based at X until it graduated as an Alphabet company in 2018. Loon was shut down in 2021.
How X Handles Project Failure and Termination
X is designed to kill initiatives quickly when they do not meet the moonshot criteria in practice. The lab estimates the cost of a failed early attempt in tens of millions of dollars per effort. By the standards of an enterprise the size of Alphabet, that sum is treated as a normal cost of doing R and D.
Stopping work without a formal vote
An initiative can be terminated at any stage. The decision is made by the team and X leadership. The lab does not require a formal review cycle or a vote from Alphabet. If the technical breakthrough does not materialize within the expected time frame, or if the market conditions shift, the effort is shut down and staff are reassigned to other work inside X.
Publishing the failures
X has been public about the failures. It publishes a list of discontinued efforts and the lessons learned, a practice that is unusual for a corporate R and D lab. The premise is that the cost of a failure is lower than the cost of continuing to work on something that no longer satisfies the moonshot criteria. The lab estimates that about 90 percent of its initiatives never graduate.
Key Facts About X
- Founded: January 2010
- Founders: Sebastian Thrun and Astro Teller
- Renamed X: October 2015, after Alphabet restructuring
- Parent: Alphabet Inc. (not Google LLC)
- Leader: Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots
- Headquarters: Former shopping mall in Mountain View, California
- First major graduate: Waymo (graduated December 2016)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a moonshot at X?
A project that addresses a huge problem, proposes a radical solution, and relies on breakthrough technology. If a proposal does not meet all three conditions, X does not fund it.
Is X part of Google?
No. X is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., not Google LLC. It was moved out of Google during the 2015 corporate restructuring.
How many projects are currently active inside X?
X does not disclose the exact number of active projects. The lab operates with no requirement to publish a project portfolio.
What happens to projects that fail?
Projects are terminated and staff are reassigned. X publishes lessons learned. About 90 percent of projects never graduate to independent company status.
