Area 120, Google’s internal incubator for products like Checks, Tables, Stack and ThreadBite, has been hit hard by widespread job cuts at Google’s parent company, Alphabet. In an email to TechCrunch, a spokesperson told TechCrunch that the majority of the Area 120 team has been “reduced,” with only three of his projects in the division graduating to Google’s core product areas later this year. rice field.
The spokesperson didn’t say specifically which projects will be closed or graduated. Previously, Area 120 fostered pilots for workplace video platform ThreadIt, spectrum marketplace Orion, and document scanner Stack. Not all were published, but there were about 20 projects in the works at any one time.
“Affected US employees have been notified [of layoffs at Area 120]but in other countries this process will take longer and is subject to local laws and practices,” the spokesperson added. 120 remain in the company. “
Area 120 was created by Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai in March 2016 to create experimental apps and services that could later be incorporated into established revenue drivers. . Over the years, the department has HTML5 game platform GameSnacks (now integrated into Google Chrome), AI-powered conversational advertising platform adringo (migrated to Google Cloud), video platform cry When shop run (Go to Google Search and Shopping).
Area 120 will be reorganized in 2021 and the group will move to a new Google Labs division led by Clay Bavor. There, I lived alongside Google’s other forward-thinking efforts related to augmented reality, virtual reality, and video conferencing. Then came the cut. Last September, Google canceled half of its Area 120 projects, slashing the program’s workforce.
A source previously told TechCrunch that Area 120 had fewer than 100 employees after the last cut. Google declined to verify the number.
