I always felt that calling this a “moonshot factory” was foolishly overblown. Just like you don’t generalise your code until you have at least two instances to work from, show us two successful “moonshots” before you even start thinking about a “factory”.
Moonshots don't imply moon landings. I take the name in a humbler manner — X is a lab that works on risky projects that might not make it anywhere, and Alphabet is okay with that.
Although, it still feels to me like the "factory" part implies they've figured out a good way to spot good investments:
At X, we’re trying to build a “moonshot factory”, a place where the processes and culture make it easier to make radical breakthroughs — repeatedly.
...but their track record doesn't really bear this out, I think?
If they had studied successful moonshots from the past and pinpointed some important elements of their approaches, that would make sense, but if so the website doesn't talk about it.
It looks like an incredibly cool and fun place to work, but who knows if they're funding the right ideas and the right people, or if it's all just random?
