A new report coming by way of Bloomberg says that Google’s self-driving vehicle project could soon turn into its own company under Alphabet, citing a person familiar with the matter. The report is unconfirmed, but the publication says these plans will come to fruition sometime in 2016.
This rumor also sheds some light on how Google plans to make its driverless car project profitable. As a stand-alone business, the self-driving cars would act as rides for hire, similar to how Uber operates. However, it seems that Google’s self-driving cars would be limited to college campuses, military bases, and corporate office parks initially:
“Google’s autonomous vehicles have logged more than 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) on public roads, mostly around San Francisco and Austin, Texas, making these cities logical places for launching a service, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. The fleets – which would include a range of large and small vehicles — could be deployed first in confined areas like college campuses, military bases or corporate office parks, the person said.”
The report lines up with news we have heard in the past, such as Google deploying its driverless car project to Austin, Texas as well as news that it would be a good candidate for a spin-off company in the future. However, if the self-driving car project were to become a standalone company under Alphabet, it might be under much more scrutiny than it has been before.
Alphabet is cracking down on the spending habits of subsidiaries, requiring companies under its umbrella to pay full price for resources. With that in mind, it’s not particularly clear how this would affect the self-driving car project. There’s a definite indication that it would need to figure out ways to become profitable, and offering rides for hire could be a good possibility.
source: Bloomberg
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