Report: Google X absorbing robotics division and Titan drone project as Alphabet re-org continues

The Alphabet re-org is still ongoing and we likely won’t get official confirmation of what the spin-off companies are until the next financial earnings report in the new year. According to a report by Re/Code, Google’s robotic division and one of their internet projects is being moved to Google X.

Even among Google’s vast and numerous projects, those within Google X are the most experimental and uncertain in terms of a business model. Project Titan works on providing internet connectivity via solar-powered drones that stay in the air for months at a time. It was previously under the Access and Energy division and moving it to Google X puts it under the same house as Project Loon, another internet connectivity project but using balloons. The group is also home to Project Wing, their drone delivery effort. Earlier this week, we reported on an unannounced drone project called Blackrock. With this initiative, Google sought to make quadcopters autonomous with cameras and a computer.

Not much has been heard about Google’s robotics group, codenamed Replicator. Their goal is to make robots that mimic human movement for use in factories and other industrial purposes. It was created after Andy Rubin moved on from Android to focus on robotics. The division is made up of all the robotic startups Google acquired, most notable being Boston Dynamics. Since Rubin’s departure from Google, the group has not had much direction according to Re/Code’s report.

In recent weeks, Alphabet officially renamed that Life Sciences branch Verily. Expect more public announcements about Alphabet’s bet companies as we move closer to the Q4 financial call in January.