Google spares three Area 120 R&D projects

The company has decided to keep working on a ‘Gen Z consumer product,’ an ‘in-car messaging service,’ and a music collaboration app.

Google’s experimental R&D division, Area 120, has decided to keep working on three of its projects, according to a report from 9to5Google. The company has decided to keep working on a ‘Gen Z consumer product,’ an ‘in-car messaging service,’ and a music collaboration app.

Area 120 was created in 2016 as a way for Google employees to work on side projects and turn them into potential products or companies. The division has launched a number of products, including Supersonic, an app to help people learn new languages, and Pop-Up, an app that helps businesses find temporary retail space.

It’s not clear which team is working on which product, but all three projects have been in development for over six months. The report notes that the teams working on the projects have been “spared” from the latest round of Area 120 layoffs, which saw the division shut down a number of projects.

The decision to keep the teams working on the three projects is likely because they have made significant progress, and because Google sees potential in the products. It’s not clear when, or if, any of the products will be released.

Google spares three Area 120 R&D projects, including team working on a ‘Gen Z consumer product’

By Dieter Bohn

Google has spared three projects from its Area 120 incubator, according to 9to5Google. The projects are Tables , Shoelace and Supersonic .

Tables is a team working on a “Gen Z consumer product.” It’s not clear what that product is, but the team is led by Manu Cornet, who previously worked on Google+ and led design at Inbox by Gmail.

Shoelace is an app “that helps you find events and activities near you,” according to its website. It launched in 2018 and is led by Justin Moore, who co-founded the company with Google veteran Wesley Chan.

Supersonic is an app that “turns your phone into a walkie-talkie.” It’s led by product management veteran Sanjay Mony, who has also worked on Hangouts and Inbox by Gmail.

All three teams will continue to work on their respective projects, but they will now do so as part of Google’s main organization.

This is a good move by Google. The company has a history of killing projects that don’t seem to be going anywhere, but it’s also been known to give projects more time to incubate and grow. These three teams have all demonstrated some level of success, and it makes sense for them to be brought under the main Google umbrella.

What’s also interesting is that two of the three teams are led by people who have worked on Google+ and Inbox by Gmail. Both of those products were killed by Google, but it seems that the company is willing to give these team members another chance.

Are you excited about any of these projects? Let us know in the comments!