Why Google Is Changing a Bunch of its Companies’ Names

Google is no longer just Google. Last summer, the search giant created a holding company called Alphabet that houses Google’s core search business and its other projects as independent entities. Since then, the company has quietly been rebranding some of its holdings to make it more clear what is part of Google and what isn’t.

The latest Alphabet organization to get a new name is Google X, which will now be known simply as “X,” according to Re/code. The moonshot incubator, which has housed projects like Google’s self-driving car initiative and robotics research, is also getting a new bright-yellow “X” logo to match its refreshed moniker.

In December, Google Ventures, Alphabet’s venture capital arm, was officially rebranded as “GV” and also got a new logo. Google Life Sciences, focused on medical research, was renamed Verily that same month.

With these changes Alphabet may have gotten all the Google out of its system besides its core search company, which also houses YouTube. Still, more changes are likely ahead. Many technology watchers have predicted that the company’s self-driving car project will be developed into an independent company this year. In 2011, Google secretly started an LLC called Google Auto for its self-driving cars, according to The Guardian, but it’s unclear whether Alphabet would use that moniker for a consumer-facing company.

The financial success of Alphabet’s many investments will be slightly clearer after the company’s next quarterly earnings report on Feb. 1, when it will break out revenue and earnings for Google separately from “other bets.”