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In the past few years the search giant Google has gone far beyond its field. Although the company has digital origins and deals with internet search and advertising Google also has a word to say in the domain of self-driving cars, smart thermostats, life-extending treatments and internet-connected eyeglasses. Now the company’s latest goals is to improve life in urban cities through its Sidewalk Labs.
Google announced on Wednesday that it is going to create the Sidewalk Labs startup which will concentrate on developing technology related to the urban life namely on a way to make transportation more effective while at the same time reducing the use of energy.
According to a message posted by co-founder Larry Page on Google+, Sidewalk Labs which has its headquarters in Mountain View will develop urban technologies in order to improve the cost of living. According to him as far as investments are concerned this project is similar to X Lab which is responsible for Project Loon.
The company will be led by Dan Doctoroff who is the deputy mayor of economic development and rebuilding in New York City and the former CEO of Bloomberg. The founders of Sidewalk Labs say that it is an “urban innovation company” which besides reducing the cost of living, cutting energy use and improving transportation it also intends to reduce pollution.
Combining Dan Doctoroff’ experience from the time spent working with New York City and Google’s cash and technology Sidewalk Labs will create its own technology, but also buy and invest and it will achieve the goal of improving urban life.
Sidewalk Lab’s way of working is through creating technologies such as platforms and products but also through forming partnerships with other firms. Although Google did not say anything about how much they are investing in this project Page remarked that the sum of money is modest.
This new initiative is not the only time when Google has set up a standalone company which runs semi-independently. Calico is a life sciences company which was launched in 2013 by Google and has the aim to find ways of extending human life span. The company is led by Arthur Levinson, former Genentech CEO.
Doctoroff commented on Google’s move by saying the following:
“Unprecedented technological change is going to enable cities to be more efficient, responsive, flexible and resilient. We are at the beginning of a historic transformation.”
Image Source: Media Street
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