In short: Moonshot factory X Development LLC. — formerly known as Google X — is close to launching its first commercial products and services, as indicated by a number of job listings spotted by AndroidHeadlines. Over the last several days, the firm posted openings for two Product Marketing Managers, one of whom is meant to be solely dedicated to its robotics division, as well as one Product Strategy and Operations Manager for its Internet balloon division Loon. All of the newly opened roles have been specifically described as pertaining to the company’s business ambitions and long-term sustainability, with the Google spinoff still describing itself as a “startup.”
Background: The Loon division of X presently appears to be the closest to achieving sustainability, with the company already conducting operations in Peru, Puerto Rico, and Kenya over the last fifteen months. Earlier this month, Loon Engineering Head Salvatore Candido confirmed the startup is seeking to launch commercial services in 2019, with that plan explaining one of the three newly listed job openings. The background of the other two postings is less clear, with one being extremely vague to begin with and the other one pertaining to the firm’s robotics division that revealed little about its operations to date. X Development is part of Alphabet’s “Other bets” business category encompassing a wide variety of highly experimental ventures that lost the tech giant some $732 million in the second quarter of the year alone.
Impact: Almost three years after being spun off into a separate entity and over eight years following its establishment, X Development appears to be ready to start making money, or at least try to in some areas. With Loon being one of its most mature units, it’s no surprise that’s where the moonshot factory will start with its commercial ambitions, though 2019 may also see the firm announce new solutions in the robotics segment and possibly one other tech field.