Staff leave Google's self-driving car team after reaping massive bonuses
Potentially giving Apple some breathing space with its own project, people have been leaving Google's self-driving car division -- now a separate company known as Waymo -- because they were actually paid too much money, a report said on Monday.
A number of veteran staff have left Google/Waymo since late 2015 because a payment scheme rewarded them with so much cash, they were free to choose other opportunities, sources told Bloomberg. The system granted people deferred bonuses and equity, eventually including a multiplier based on valuations of the division.
When payouts came in 2015, some people reaped millions of dollars. One person is said to have reached a multiplier of 16 over the course of four years.
Payouts were so high, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat was allegedly referring to them when mentioning "project milestones in Other Bets" as a central reason operating expenses rose 14 percent to $6.6 billion in Q4 2015.
Departures only increased in 2016, the Bloomberg sources said, driven not just by the financial situation but worries about Google's progress and the project's new head, John Krafcik.
Some exiles included the co-founders of Otto, a self-driving trucking firm now owned by Uber, and Bryan Salesky, who launched Argo AI -- which recently got $1 billion in funding from Ford.
Waymo is thought to have a testing advantage over the likes of Apple, but a weaker talent pool might limit the size of that gap. Currently, Apple's self-driving car efforts -- known as Project Titan -- are thought to be limited to developing a platform rather than a full-on vehicle, using VR and AR to test some technologies.
The company is reportedly waiting until later this year to decide if it will resume designing a first-party vehicle or partner with an established automaker.
A number of veteran staff have left Google/Waymo since late 2015 because a payment scheme rewarded them with so much cash, they were free to choose other opportunities, sources told Bloomberg. The system granted people deferred bonuses and equity, eventually including a multiplier based on valuations of the division.
When payouts came in 2015, some people reaped millions of dollars. One person is said to have reached a multiplier of 16 over the course of four years.
Payouts were so high, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat was allegedly referring to them when mentioning "project milestones in Other Bets" as a central reason operating expenses rose 14 percent to $6.6 billion in Q4 2015.
Departures only increased in 2016, the Bloomberg sources said, driven not just by the financial situation but worries about Google's progress and the project's new head, John Krafcik.
Some exiles included the co-founders of Otto, a self-driving trucking firm now owned by Uber, and Bryan Salesky, who launched Argo AI -- which recently got $1 billion in funding from Ford.
Waymo is thought to have a testing advantage over the likes of Apple, but a weaker talent pool might limit the size of that gap. Currently, Apple's self-driving car efforts -- known as Project Titan -- are thought to be limited to developing a platform rather than a full-on vehicle, using VR and AR to test some technologies.
The company is reportedly waiting until later this year to decide if it will resume designing a first-party vehicle or partner with an established automaker.
Comments
It turns out that taking F-u money doesn't look good on a resume, nor does over a decade of unexplained unemployment.
At the end of the day, it appears the division met Google's milestones or the awards wouldn't have been paid out. Without that staff they may or may not have achieved what they did.
I dont recall which company.. but anyways.. they setup manufacturing in an island nation......And offer huge salaries to the locals relative local standards.
.. intention was to gain loyalty and inspire motivation for hard work..
after one year almost all quit... they had earned more money than they ever had dreamed of and did not need more... (relative to their mind set, standard of living and expectations ).....
Bottom line: Computer-driven automobiles that monitor and control an automobiles safety functions have been around for many decades and will continue to increase the aspect of auto in an automobile, just as we've seen with Tesla (and others) in recent years as the technology has improved.
Augmented reality displays built into the windshield or the use of special glasses to enhance a driver's sense of vision is huge and will sell like gangbusters.
I am sensing that Waymo is beginning to shape up as another Google Glass, or Motorola, or Nest, or Google fiber. . .
I would be jumping ship also if I had millions in the bank. In order for the product to be successful, it actually has to sell. I highly doubt that the public will be willing to fork over extra thousands on the cost of a vehicle for self driving technology. A few will, but the majority won't.
It's not like the Wright Brothers Flyer had automatic pilot and an in-flight entertainment system.
That said, Google has been testing self-driving cars for many years on the streets around their headquarters. Have these cars graduated from college? Probably not but they are certainly learning. They are certainly safer than a teenager with a learner's permit or the average driver in the 18-24 age range.
It's unknown if the Waymo platform will be first to market.
There are a lot of companies now testing this technology all over the world and we're not too far away from the day when someone will bring a mass-market autonomous car to Joe Consumer.
And a million won't get a single-family dwelling. Maybe a two bedroom townhouse.