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Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator responsible for products such as Checks, Tables, Stack and ThreadBite, has been hit hard by broader job cuts at Google parent company Alphabet. A spokesperson told TechCrunch in an email that most of the Aria 120 team has been “dismantled” and that only three projects from Phase 1 will graduate into core Google product areas later this year.
The spokeswoman would not say which specific projects had been closed or graduated. Previously, Area 120 was creating pilots such as workplace video platform ThreadIt, spectrum marketplace Orion, document scanner Stack and more. At any given time, a total of about 20 projects were underway, although not all were public.
“Affected employees in the US have been notified [of layoffs at Area 120]But in other countries, this process takes longer and is subject to local laws and practices, the spokesperson added. “Our local management partner 120 He will remain in the company.”
Area 120 was created in March 2016 by Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai with the aim of creating experimental applications and services that could later be folded into established profit drivers. Over the years, the division has launched several products, including successful ones HTML5 game platform GameSnacks (now integrated with Google Chrome) A conversational advertising platform powered by AI Adlingo (Google Cloud) and video platforms Cry And shop run (which originated in Google Search and Marketing).
Around 120 AD It was reorganized in 2021 when the team moved to a new Google lab unit headed by Clay Bavore, where Google lived alongside other forward-looking efforts related to augmented reality, virtual reality, and video conferencing. Then came the cuts. Last September, Google canceled half of the projects at Area 120 and essentially cut the program’s workforce.
Around 120 had fewer than 100 employees after the last round of layoffs, a source previously told TechCrunch. Google declined to confirm the number.
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