Dive Brief
- Alphabet-owned Sidewalk Labs is folding its products into Google, where the company was originally launched, according to a letter published Thursday by Sidewalk Labs Founder and CEO Daniel L. Doctoroff.
- Sidewalk Labs products including its smart parking and curb space sensor, Pebble; commercial building energy-saving kit Mesa; development planning product Delve; and home energy management system, Affordable Electrification will join Google starting next year.
- Doctoroff also announced that he will step down from his position as CEO due to health reasons, explaining he was told by doctors that he likely has ALS.
Dive Insights:
Doctoroff launched Sidewalk Labs six years ago as an urban innovation arm of Google. Now operating under its parent company, Alphabet, Sidewalk Labs has since created spin-off company Replica, which implements data platforms that measure traffic, consumer spending, and more for cities, in addition to Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, a company that Doctoroff said in his letter has "pioneered new forms of tech-enabled infrastructure."
Sidewalk Labs also notably dropped its controversial Quayside smart city project along the Toronto Waterfront in May 2020. Doctoroff said at the time that the project’s end was due to "unprecedented economic uncertainty." Although the Quayside project didn’t come to fruition, the company’s vision for Toronto "provided a global blueprint for climate-positive development," he wrote this week.
The Pebble, Mesa, Delve and Affordable Electrification products are among the ideas that spun out of the Quayside project, with each still offering opportunities to address sustainability in cities, according to Doctoroff. Canopy Buildings, a factory-automated mass timber construction product, also spun out of the Quayside project, and will now become an independent company with assistance from Alphabet, per Thursday’s announcement.
The decision to fold Sidewalk Labs products into Google also comes as parent company Alphabet has increased its focus on sustainability in recent years, Doctoroff said in the letter. Alphabet has been "doubling down on its climate-related commitments, including its ambitious goal to operate on carbon-free energy 24/7 by 2030 and invest in technologies to help partners and people all over the world make sustainable choices," according to the letter.
"I leave Sidewalk having complete confidence that our impact will increase exponentially," Doctoroff wrote. "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."
Nick Bowden, CEO and co-founder of Replica told Smart Cities Dive in an email statement that Doctoroff's ambition around city building is "unmatched."
"From his work in New York to Toronto, combined with the influence he's had on technology being used in hundreds of cities around the world, he's a true pioneer. He is also one of the true good people in the world," Bowden said, adding: "The Dan I know is a real fighter and I'm certain he'll take that fight to ALS."
