sidewalk labs
Bulletins

Sidewalk Labs is folding into Google, and its CEO is leaving

Dan Doctoroff is resigning after Sidewalk's smart-city plans have failed to take off.

The Toronto of the future Sidewalk Labs imagined, in a project that's now stopping.

The smart-city project is being folded into Google.

Rendering: Courtesy of Sidewalk Labs

Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs is being grouped into Google, company CEO Dan Doctoroff wrote in a letter on Thursday. Doctoroff also announced that he's stepping down because of a likely ALS diagnosis.

"While I will dearly miss working with the incomparable Sidewalk Labs team, I couldn’t be more excited to see Google accelerate the development of our products and technology to achieve their sustainability mission — not a moment too soon for the world," Doctoroff said.

The smart city project originally began as part of Google and eventually broke off into its own company under Alphabet. Sidewalk Labs has had a tough year; in May, it dropped its project to build a tech-focused city in Toronto after facing criticism and failing to get a sign-off from local government leaders.

The company's products — Pebble, Mesa, Delve and Affordable Electrification, which were designed to accomplish sustainable goals like saving energy and managing parking space — will become part of Google, Doctoroff said. Sidewalk Labs President of Urban Products Prem Ramaswami and CTO Craig Nevill-Manning will continue overseeing the projects.

Update: This story was updated to include more information about Dan Doctoroff's likely diagnosis. This story was updated Dec. 16, 2021.

Sarah Roach

Sarah (Sarahroach_) writes for Source Code at Protocol. She's based in Boston and can be reached at sroach@protocol.com

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