In 2015, Google decided to unite all of its projects and companies into one holding – Alphabet. In three years’s time, Alphabet has grown into a large corporation, whose companies produce self-driving cars, invest in startups, and experiment with unmanned delivery and Internet distribution via balloons.
Alphabet Corporation is divided into two parts: Google and Other Bets. It is in Other Bets that Alphabet companies less-known to a wide audience operate.
Verily
Verily is a healthcare and preventive medicine company. For example, they make contact lenses that monitor the wearer’s blood glucose levels. Another company product is stabilizing cutlery that helps people with hand tremors eat well.
Calico
Calico’s slogan is “to cure death.” The company is investing millions of dollars in the development of drugs that extend human life. Calico’s goal is to find ways to heal cancer and Alzheimer’s in senior age
DeepMind
The company focuses on artificial intelligence research. In 2014, Google acquired the company for $ 500 million and is now actively implementing artificial intelligence tools into Alphabet products.
Jigsaw
Founded in 2016, Jigsaw, a think tank, uses technology to solve geopolitical issues online, for example, issues of online censorship, the safety of journalists, cyber attacks, extremism and online harassment.
Waymo
This is an autonomous car project from Alphabet. For almost 10 years, the developers have been creating self-driving cars in the Google X department. In 2016 Waymo became an independent project, which defined its goal as “the safe and easy movement of people and things.”
Wing
It is a commercial drone delivery project. In 2016, Wing delivered burritos to students at the University of Virginia using unmanned drones. The project manager left his position in October 2016 after the company was accused of creating harsh working conditions.
Nest Labs
Nest Labs is a company that makes thermostats, smoke detectors, surveillance cameras and other smart home devices.
Google also has a hardware department. In 2016, the company’s management hired former Motorola President Rick Osterloch to head this department. Osterloch’s team is working on Pixel phones, Google Home projects, Chromebooks and Google Glass.
