Google to Spin Off Driverless cars Unit as pision of Alphabet in 2016

Google has said that it will be spinning off its unit that specializes in self-driving cars unit as a stand alone unit that belongs to Alphabet Inc from the next year, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company might possibly first launch these cars as rides for hire in cities like Austin in Texas and San Francisco in California where the driverless cars have been tested extensively. The plan is to initially deploy them in confined areas like military bases, university campuses and corporate office parks.

Back in August, Google had gone through a restructuring process in which the core web related businesses like YouTube, Android, maps, search, and advertising are part of Google while the newer businesses like its venture capital pision, Google Ventures, Nest that specializes in connected home products and Google X, the research pision which deals with projects like autonomous cars will function under the Alphabet fold.

Google began working on the autonomous cars project back in 2009 and based on the company’s reports and those from other automakers who are working on similar projects, self-driving cars should be fully roadworthy by 2020.

In July, Google had stated that it was testing a fleet of 23 specially equipped Lexus prototypes, which had logged more than 1 million test miles.

Deploying self-driving cars as cars for hire will pit Google directly against ride sharing firms like Uber and Lyft.