We usually talk about Google in terms of Search, Cloud, Robo Cars, and Youtube.
What we don't discuss very often are the dozens (or hundreds?) of other projects Alphabet is either funding or investing in.
For example, a 2017 Atlantic article explains:
X has quietly looked into space elevators and cold fusion. It has tried, and abandoned, projects to design hoverboards with magnetic levitation and to make affordable fuel from seawater. It has tried—and succeeded, in varying measures—to build self-driving cars, make drones that deliver aerodynamic packages, and design contact lenses that measure glucose levels in a diabetic person’s tears.
Aside from Google X, Google also invests in tech startups via Google Ventures. Some companies funded by GV includes:
- Uber
- Nest
- Slack
- Gitlab
- 23andme
- Docusign
- Udacity
- Upstart
My questions is, what projects from Google do you feel like people are not properly recognizing as a potential “next big thing”?
Are they making big strides in digitizing the planet for the metaverse? Are they doing something with AI that's only made possible by their search data?
Last time I asked this question people pointed me to Planet Labs — a company partly owned by Google that is scanning earth almost daily and generating a ton of data (I bought some $PL based on that recommendation).
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