What is X Development (formerly Google X), and what kind of innovation philosophy does it represent within the company?

You can imagine X as a super-secret "future lab" or "moonshot factory" within Google (now its parent company, Alphabet).

The goal of this department isn't to simply optimize Google Search or add a small feature to Android. Its mission is to solve huge problems that can affect all of humanity, and the solutions proposed often sound like something out of science fiction. They call these "Moonshots," meaning they're not just aiming for a 10% improvement, but a 10x improvement, or even completely changing the game.

For example, projects we've heard of include:

Waymo: Originally an autonomous driving project developed by X.
Loon: Provided internet to remote areas using giant balloons; the project was later discontinued.
Wing: Drone delivery service.
Google Glass: Smart glasses, also born here.

When these projects were first proposed, they all sounded like pure fantasy.

As for the innovative spirit it embodies, this is where X truly shines and what makes it so fascinating:

Encouraging "Wild Ideas": It institutionally encourages employees to think about the boldest, craziest ideas. Solving big problems, not small inconveniences, is in the department's DNA. They believe that the effort required to solve a huge problem is often similar to that needed for a small one, so why not tackle the big one?
Embracing Failure, Even Rewarding It: This is highly counter-intuitive, yet it's the essence. At X, one of a team's most important tasks is to prove their project "won't work" as quickly and early as possible. They will first attack the most difficult part of the project, and if insurmountable obstacles are found, the project is immediately scrapped. The team that "killed" the project is not punished; instead, they might receive bonuses or praise because they saved the company a significant amount of time and money. This culture of "failing fast, failing smart" allows people to take bold risks without fear of losing their jobs due to failure.
Cross-disciplinary Collaboration: X brings together roboticists, AI scientists, fashion designers, material scientists, and other people from vastly different fields. They believe that true disruptive innovation often occurs at the intersection of different fields of knowledge.

In summary, the innovative spirit represented by the X department is: aiming for the grandest goals, trying with the wildest ideas, and creating a safe environment where people are "not afraid to fail, and fail early." It is not a traditional R&D department, but rather an "innovation incubator" combining the shrewdness of venture capital with the curiosity of top scientists. Projects that eventually "graduate" from X become independent companies (like Waymo) to venture out into the world on their own.