Loon, a US-based internet provision technology developer spun off by internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, will be shuttered, the company has announced.
Founded in 2011 within Alphabet’s moonshot division, Google X, Loon has been developing a system that would have utilised high-altitude balloons to deliver affordable high-speed internet in previously inaccessible areas.
The company received $125m in funding from HapsMobile, a high-altitude telecommunications infrastructure developer launched by telecoms and internet group SoftBank and drone manufacturer Aerovironment, in 2019, but will be wound down due to issues in commercialisation.
Astro Teller, who heads Google X, said: “Sadly, despite the team’s ground-breaking technical achievements over the last nine years – doing many things previously thought impossible, like precisely navigating balloons in the stratosphere, creating a mesh network in the sky or developing balloons that can withstand the harsh conditions of the stratosphere for more than a year – the road to commercial viability has proven much longer and riskier than hoped.”
Part of the Loon team will be tasked with assessing options for its technology, and although it is shutting down it has committed $10m to a fund that will back companies and non-profit organisations developing connectivity, internet, education and entrepreneurship projects in Kenya.
Other companies to have emerged from Google X include Verily, the life sciences technology provider that had raised $2.5bn in external funding as of last month, and Waymo, the autonomous driving technology developer that closed $3bn in funding in May 2020.
