News Summary

• Alphabet’s X moonshot factory is shifting how it brings ambitious technology projects to market.
• X is increasingly spinning them out as independent companies rather than keeping them within the Alphabet corporate structure.
• The strategy hinges on a dedicated venture fund that exists solely to invest in X spinouts, and in which Alphabet is only a minority investor.The approach represents a meaningful evolution for X, which has historically graduated successful projects like Waymo and Wing into stand-alone Alphabet subsidiaries.
• X defines a moonshot as having three specific components: It must attempt to solve a huge problem in the world, propose some kind of product or service that could make that problem disappear, and leverage breakthrough tech that creates a “glimmer of hope” that the team inside X can solve that problem.