Denise Gamboa, director of marketing and communications, said that some of the technology and part of the team would be consolidated into existing robotics efforts within Google Research.
The Everyday Robots project originated in 2013 after Google purchased the robotics engineering company Boston Dynamics.
Everyday Robots developed a fleet of robots repeating tasks like sorting trash. And also cleaning Google’s dining halls and conference rooms. The project incurred losses of about $6.1 billion for Alphabet in 2022.
The development of general-purpose learning robots was a success. But it didn’t outweigh the costs incurred. And the latest layoffs reflect the need to streamline expenses.
Alphabet is trying to simplify its operations and focus on core businesses. And they are looking to those that have the potential to generate higher revenues.
The layoffs at Alphabet at Intrinsic AI and the Everyday Robots project, is a reflection of the challenges that tech firms face in developing cutting-edge technologies while balancing costs and generating profits.
