Google has announced a major corporate restructuring where all Google shares are transferred into Alphabet, a holding company. The new structure is much better suited for Google’s self-driving car ambitions – which may quickly grow into a billion dollar industry . This restructuring is a well calculated move to position Google for the road ahead into self-driving cars/driverless mobility, robotics etc.
It shows how serious Google is about making a major impact in fields outside of its ‘traditional’ internet-centric business. It is also interesting that Google’s announcement carefully avoids mentioning those activities with the highest revenue potential – such as self-driving cars. Instead they just speak of much smaller activities in Life-Sciences (glucose-sensing contact lenses), longevity and drone delivery.
The Alpha-bet is indeed – as the founders indicate in their announcement - a major bet on the future. A decade from now Alphabet’s revenues from mobility and robotics could eclipse Google’s web business.