Alphabet lays off 20% of staff in robotics subsidiary Intrinsic AI

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Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced another round of layoffs, this time affecting its robotics subsidiary, Intrinsic AI.

Last month, Intrinsic acquired the commercial arm of Open Robotics, called OSRC. A post on TeamBlind’s professional network suggests that the layoffs were decided right after the acquisition, as the company needed to maintain employee headcount.

 According to reports, Intrinsic AI is eliminating around 20% of its workforce, roughly 40 employees. The move comes after another Alphabet subsidiary, Verily, laid off around 240 employees as part of its One Verily program to simplify its operating model. This represented 15% of Verily’s 1,600-strong workforce.

Layoffs at Intrinsic AI

Intrinsic AI was incubated for close to five years in Alphabet’s X research unit before going independent.  It specializes in developing artificial intelligence-based software to bolster the use of robots in industries and commercial environments. 

It is unclear how many people will be affected by the layoffs from the Everyday Robots project. And Alphabet is scheduled to shut it down.