In the New Alphabet Order Google X is now just X

A report on Wednesday indicates the Google X “moonshot” division is beginning to trim the fat – and that appears to include the name.

According to an exploratory Re/code piece, Google X is now just X, with the re-branding also featuring a fancy new animated logo (below).

The report claims: “[X] has this nifty new logo that’s meant to capture the X blueprint of incubating a “radical solution” to a “really big problem in the world” that deploys some “breakthrough technology.”

In the light of the Google Glass failure, the new company will take less risks and will focus on products that can graduate into separate companies; the self-driving cars scheme, for example, which is now a division of its own under the Alphabet banner.

“It’s going to be much more scaled back,” an ex-X employee reportedly said, speaking of the increased accountability. 

As part of the more considered approach, the newly named X division will be assisted by a group known as The Foundry, which will help projects through “life-or-death” situations.

This group will be a voice of reason when it comes to deciding whether the ideas should move forward to become start-ups in their own right – or whether they’re shuttered.

Another former X employee remarked: “Somebody would get too attached to the project and not kill it,” something that’s no longer likely to happen.

Related: What is Alphabet? Google’s new parent company explained

Regardless of the upheaval, Astro Teller will remain in charge of X, but he may be presiding over more “cloudshots” than moonshots during the new era.